For Want Of A Sibling
by Onizzyx
Summary: "We need to get rid of that ostrich butt you have." "It's called a turkey tail Carol." "I don't care what you want to call it. The bird butt has got to go Lynx." Carol and Lincoln friendship fic. 'No Such Luck' AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The Loud House is property of Nickelodeon. I own nothing.**

* * *

 **For Want Of A Sibling**

 **Chapter 01**

* * *

"I can't believe this! They actually locked me out of the house because of a superstition?"

Lincoln was staring at his house in skepticism as he fumed. Is this how families are supposed to react to something like this? Locking their own family member out of their house because of something as vague as bad luck?

His family took reactions up to eleven sure. This however? This was over the top in a way he never saw before. His siblings have done some crazy things with him stuck in the middle of it. But this?

"This is too much. Even for them…" Sighing in defeat Lincoln turned away from the Loud house and started walking. He couldn't bare looking at his house again. Just the thought that all his siblings are asleep in their warm beds filled him with envy. Did even one of them stop to think about him? Did his well being even matter to them?

He tried to keep himself warm from the night air by rubbing his arms with minimal success. Pajamas were meant for use inside a nice cozy bed, not the outside. He could feel the little goose bumps already forming on his arms.

"Snap out of it Lincoln Loud! You're the man with the plan. First thing on the agenda, find shelter." He always came up with something. He could figure out what to do from here.

"What can I do though? I can't contact Clyde, it's too late and I don't have my cellphone on me."

Each step he took was painful as his bare feet scraped against the hard asphalt sidewalk. Every little pebble felt like Lego biting into his feet with the cold ground.

When he finally looked up from out of his thoughts he realized he was at the playground.

"That's it! The park!" He said with a smile. He remembers that plastic tube, he used to play in it a lot. Especially with his siblings.

Just like that the full weight of the situation hit him again. The park, that his big sisters used to take him to and him in turn to his little sisters. This was the very park where the Loud siblings suffered many scrapes from playing to rough. But this was a place with fond memories of laughter and cheer.

He didn't know how long he was just sitting there. Staring at the ground as images flashed through his head. Memories of fun times with his siblings brought smiles to his face. Harsh times with his sisters brought scowls. Anger showed up now and then along with a few chuckles.

The tears however kept flowing no matter what.

He didn't even hear as the person approached him from behind.

* * *

' _You should feel proud of yourself.'_

' _Shut up.'_ Lynn hated that little voice in her head it was annoying as heck. She listened to it way too much. Every time she listened to it, she always regretted it when it came back to bite her in the butt.

' _But you really should be! You got rid of the family bad luck charm. Your sisters and parents should thank you.'_ It didn't have a face, but it had a voice.

And how annoying that voice was.

' _Should you really be happy? Your baby brother is outside in the cold and all alone.'_ There's the other voice too. Just great.

' _Oh please, what could happen to him? Anything bad that happens to him is his own fault for being such a jinx.'_

Lynn kept tossing and turning in the bed as the two voices kept arguing. So, what if he had to sleep outside? It serves him right for being a jinx and costing her the game.

' _What if something happens to him?'_

' _Go check up on the jinx if you're so worried.'_

' _We should get him a blanket.'_ It wasn't that cold out.

Was it? Stupid voices.

"We're just going to check up on him. That's it, nothing else." She told herself as she kicked off the covers of her bed.

She tried to creep out of room as to not wake up her little sister. But as she almost made it to the door the coffin Lucy slept in slowly creaked open. If Lynn wasn't used to living in the same room as Lucy she would probably pee herself. She watched enough horror movies to know what happens when a coffin slowly opens.

"Where are you going?" The monotone voice of her sister reached her ears in the silent room.

"Just getting a glass of water. Got to stay hydrated to avoid those muscle cramps."

Lynn slowly made her way downstairs passing by the boarded room of Lincoln. She likened the boarded room to a condemned building. No entry permitted. No exit available. It was nothing more than an empty shell of what it once.

An image of Lincoln begging to be let back in flashed in her mind. Begging, and pleading for anyone to let him in as tears pricked the sides of his eyes.

' _Lincoln's fine outside. I can probably see him from the window.'_

The cold tiled floor of the kitchen bit at her feet as she retrieved a glass and filled it with water. She took a peak out the window hoping to see her brother.

Nothing.

' _Try the back?'_ The good voice, the sister voice suggested.

Lincoln would probably sleep against the tree in the back. He _better_ be sleeping against the tree in the back.

She turned the light to the backyard on. If there was someone sleeping there before they would've moved from the new light bothering their sleep.

Nothing. No motion at all to signify he slept in the backyard.

' _Try the front?'_ The sister voice started to sound worried. More worried than before. That made her worried.

Psh, there was nothing to be worried about. Linc was probably asleep on the front porch or maybe against the tree out there.

' _Are you sure about that?'_ The not sister voice asked. She could hear the smugness in the voice. She _really_ wished she could punch the thing sometimes.

"He has to be out front. He _has_ to be…" It made sense. If he wasn't out back, he had to be out front.

The not sister voice was snickering. Snickering _hard_. She probed for the light switch that would turn the lights out front on. She could hear the click of the lights. She could hear the crickets of the night. She could hear the wind of the cold night air.

She could hear the cackling madness of the not sister's laugh.

' _Then where is he?'_

* * *

Carol wanted to sigh. This was no different than all the other times.

"It's not you Carol. It's me." The same old line being told her. New person, same thing, over, and over again.

"No. I get it. It's fine." Post on the same fake smile. Use the same fake words.

But it wasn't fine or okay. How many boyfriends broke up with her because she was 'too good' for them?

"Friends?" They always asked this. They never followed through with their own words. They'd still talk for maybe a week; before the guy would just stop completely.

"Sure. I'm going to go on ahead. Thanks for dinner." She didn't even let him get another word in before she left the restaurant.

She felt the chill of the night air hit her and she instantly regretted not bringing a wind breaker or something. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her now ex-boyfriend stare at the table in guilt from the window. Why would someone do something if it would just make you feel bad later?

Every time. Every. Single. Time! Right when she thinks she's getting close to someone they always back away.

Couldn't there be someone out there who could like her for who she is? Someone that would confide in her and rely on her and vice versa?

It was one of the reasons she was envious of Lori Loud. Her classmate had ten siblings. Ten! They were always together, and they could tell each other their problems.

Carol always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. No matter what occasion Carol always saw Leni beside her older sister. Leni was always there to congratulate Lori, to comfort Lori, to hang out with Lori. She was there to laugh with Lori. She was there to cry with Lori.

It was one of the reasons she hated being an only child.

She didn't want to go home just yet. Her Dad always worked nights, her Mom has long since passed away, and no one to keep her company. It would just be another lonely night at the Pingrey house.

She kicked a pebble on the sidewalk and watched as it skipped across the pavement like a skipping stone one water. She walked a bit faster to kick it again and follow its path before it went flying onto the grass near the old playground. It was then that a speck of white and orange caught her attention.

'Isn't that Lori's brother?'

Carol observed the white-haired child in the distance. Even from where she stood she could tell his body was shaking. She wanted to keep walking. It would be so easy for her to ignore the problem. It didn't concern her, she had her own things to deal with.

As she tried to take a step away and towards her house a certain feeling arose. It started in her mind, just a shallow whisper to not turn away. She tried taking another step and the voice kept getting louder. Eventually it made its way into her chest, clenching and making it hard to breath and settled in her stomach where it continued to wrestle with her gut.

"Geeze…" Rubbing her head with one hand and clicking her tongue Carol made her way towards the boy. "When it rains it pours huh…" She couldn't help the sigh that pressed itself out of her lips.

She cleaned the seat of the swing set with her hand before sitting down beside the boy and taking a better look at him.

Yeah, any doubt she had about this being Lori's little brother before has now been completely swept away.

Lori's little brother. Out alone late at night. In his pajamas. Sobbing in an empty park on a swing.

"So… You sneak out of your house only to lock yourself outside?" She tried to play it as a joke. She personally never experienced that, but she heard some of her acquaintances at school mention something like that happening to them before.

Even though the night was quiet, she couldn't hear his response.

"Yeah… I literally missed that. Speak up." She tried leaning closer to hear better. It wasn't needed to though. The boy found his voice amidst his choked sobs.

"My family locked me out of the house. They said I'm bad luck." Lincoln tried to smile despite the situation. He _tried_ to answer the young woman in a 'what can you do' manner. He _tried_ to chuckle as if it were a joke. It wasn't working.

Carol's mind froze at that short explanation. She did not just hear what she thinks she heard.

"Your family kicked you out of the house…" The boy nodded. "because you're bad luck?" When the boy didn't reply in the negative to her confirmation she was at a loss for words. Her mouth opening as if wanting to say something, and then closing again when nothing would come out.

It had to be a sick joke. She knew of the Louds, she was in the same grade as the eldest. The one thing that always stuck in her mind was how one of the siblings was always near the other when an opportunity arrived.

"They boarded up my room and everything…" She caught that whispered reply that time. With her full attention on the boy any whisper he gave off sounded clear to her now. If the fact that they kicked him out shocked her the loss of all his possessions made her brain shut down.

They were silent for a moment. The boy's sobbing lessening now, but it was still there. Her brain took a while to reboot but even then. The entire situation was new and alien to her.

"Did… you want me to call child services?" It shouldn't have even been a question. There were laws against this kind of thing. But she didn't know what to do, and letting the boy make the choice for her was easier than making her own now.

"No… This was all my fault." He brought this situation upon himself. He wanted alone time. It looks like he got what he wanted.

Carol on the other hand just had one thought going through her head.

' _What?'_

Lincoln took her silence as a que to tell her everything that happened. It was slow as he took time between telling her the story and trying to hold back the tears that were struggling to continue again. Carol tried to be patient through it all. She tried to be understanding and see things from his point of view.

She stayed silent the entire time. Letting the boy recollect the events that led up to this situation.

"So…" She paused trying to find the right words to use. "You're either an idiot or insane to blame everything on yourself." Her words shocked the boy as he stared at her.

Lincoln didn't know how to respond to that statement. Every time something emotional happened to him with his sister's they would always just be supportive and comforting. The person in front of him however…

"Sorry. That came out harsh." Carol admitted as she scratched her head with one hand. "It's been a long day for the both of us, but you just made my day longer. It's getting late and I'm getting tired." She got up from the seat and stood directly in front of the boy.

"So right now, you have three choices." She placed one hand on her hip and put one hand in the sky with the index finger pointing up. "Number one. You spend the night out under the stars with no way to keep warm. Making _me_ stay out under the stars with no way to keep warm just to make sure nothing happens to you. Which I do not want." Another finger stood on end. "Number two. I call child services for you and I don't get _any_ sleep period. Or three. You come with me. Both of us sleep the day off, and we figure out together where we go from here in the morning." She finished as she held up her third finger.

"So, which one is it going to be?" She held out her hand as she cocked an eyebrow at him.

She saw the confliction in his eyes as his view darted to meet hers and her hand. Back and forth his eyes moved like a pendulum. He was looking for something. What he was looking for she didn't know. But it really was kind of cold out and she just wanted to get into her warm bed.

"Sleep it off." He took the hand offered and she helped pull him up.

Carol nodded once in satisfaction of his reply as his small hand was covered by her own.

"Come on, I live close by. Your hand is freezing." Carol tried to warm up both their hands by rubbing them together.

"How long have you been outside again?" She really hoped he wasn't going to get sick from staying so late outside. She did not want to deal with that.

It was then she noticed something else.

"Uh, you have no shoes." She pointed out. All Lincoln could do was shrug at her observation. It wasn't like most people slept in their bed with their sneakers on.

Carol thought about what to do about the situation. All she really wanted to do now was to get out of the cold and into her bed. First, she gets dumped by her boyfriend and now she's taking care of one of her classmate's siblings.

"Ugh, here, climb on." She turned around and lowered herself closer to the ground.

Lincoln's wrapped his arms around her neck as she lifted his legs up. It took a while for Carol to get a firm grip on the boy. She's never given someone a piggy back ride before. After a while it didn't seem so bad, at least he kept the cold from her back.

Lincoln was reminded of happier times. The way Carol was carrying him brought forth thoughts of his older sisters.

Especially memories of Lori, and how she used to carry him the same way when he hurt himself.

* * *

When Carol and Lincoln made it to her house she brought him straight to the bathroom.

"Here. Take a bath and then go to sleep. Things seem a bit brighter after a good night's rest." She said as she handed the confused boy a spare towel. She left the bathroom and started heading for her room. In the back of her head she noted the sound of the shower being turned on.

"Dammit Carol just what are you doing?" She paused getting her own pajamas and towel ready to let out a sigh.

Maybe it was just the heat of the moment, looking back on the situation she made a dumb call. She should have just gone straight to the authorities with Lincoln. What does she do?

Instead she takes the boy home.

Isn't that like kidnapping even if the boy himself made the choice? Kids aren't supposed to make decisions like that. Grown ups are. Carol may be almost considered an adult in the eyes of the law, but she's still got 8 months to go before she becomes a legal adult.

Carol was pretty sure she was breaking the law in some shape or form. This is something she could go to jail for. Everyone knew that.

'Think Carol, what can you do?'

She idly noted that Lincoln finished his shower at some point and said she was good to go next. Did she tell Lincoln to wait in her room? She couldn't remember if she did or not.

There were only a couple of things she _could_ think of. What could she do? Where does she go from here? She felt the warm water of the shower hit her hair.

She could go to the police in the morning. If she read the situation wrong and Lincoln was just exaggerating she might just damn an entire family. Was she prepared for that kind of action? She might not be friends with Lori Loud. She might not _like_ her either. Not even she would want Lori forcibly separated from her siblings though.

She knew what it was like to be alone.

She could shelter the boy, for a little while at least. Kids cost money, she knows that from class. They need clothes, food, education, and a bunch of other things she doesn't even want to think of.

Speaking of clothes, she would have to take the kid shopping tomorrow. He can't only wear pajamas. How was she going to get him dressed to go out though?

'Whatever. Him and I will talk tomorrow, and we'll figure this out.'

She finished drying her hair and made her way to check up on Lincoln.

She wasn't worried at all about what the possible state of her room could be. Not at all.

Only to see a sight she didn't expect to see but really should have.

Lincoln was curled up underneath her covers fast asleep. She couldn't blame the kid. The emotional drain along with how late it was must have taken its toll on him. A warm bed must have seemed like a siren's call.

"I'm sorry… I'm not bad luck."

Carol leaned in closer to Lincoln. She tried to catch the words being mumbled in the boy's sleep.

"Luck is how you make it out to be." She couldn't help the retort.

The preteen tossed and turned in his sleep. His face switching into a myriad of expressions. Each expression barely lasted more than a second, with most of them being visages of fear and pleading.

"Please don't leave me…" The boy whimpered as he subconsciously started curling into a ball.

Carol was hesitating on what to do in her head. Lincoln Loud was proving to make Carol experience things she's never had before. She never had a younger brother or even a younger cousin.

' _I need to get some sleep as well. Do I wake him up? But there's no guarantee that when he falls back to sleep he'll sleep peacefully…'_

That was the last thing she wanted or needed. She had a long day too! Maybe he had a longer day, but it hers was still long! His moans and whimpers were starting to make her feel awkward as well. It was a strange mixture of worry, helplessness, and exasperation.

"Lori… Please…"

He kind of reminded her of a stray pet. Maybe a puppy or a kitten.

' _A pet huh…'_

She lifted the covers up and pressed herself up against the boy and tried to make herself comfortable.

' _There's nothing to feel strange about. It's just like sleeping with a pet, a lot of people sleep with their pets.'_

She tried to justify it to herself, but even she knew it sounded weak to her ears. Carol idly started to play with his hair while he slept. It helped calm the boy down from whatever was haunting him, and it helped lower the nervous pounding of her own heart.

Eventually the boy's subtle struggles against his mind started to subside. His breathing started to slow down, and his lips no longer moved as if searching for words. A vast improvement to earlier.

She would never admit it out loud. She would never admit it under threat of death. It didn't actually feel that bad holding the boy. His body heat took a bit to get used to, other that that, it was like…

' _Like holding a big teddy bear…'_


	2. Chapter 2

**For Want Of A Sibling**

 **Chapter 02**

* * *

A cold chill swept down her back as she fought to get air into her lungs.

Lynn was panicking.

Lincoln was not where she expected him to be. As soon as she realized he wasn't in view from any of the houses windows an alarm in her head triggered. She scrambled to put on her sneakers and ran outside after grabbing a flashlight.

'Just go back to bed. The jinx isn't worth it.'

"Ignore the not sister voice. Find Lincoln. Ignore the not sister voice. Find Lincoln." Lynn chanted as she started scouting the area. She knew it. She knew listening to the not sister voice always came back to bite her in the butt.

"Pst! Linc! If you can hear me say something!" She quietly called out. Last thing Lynn needed was for their parents to wake up. She would be grounded for a week for not being in her bed by lights out.

"Come on Linc let's go inside. It's cold out here." Her teeth were chattering even as she called out.

'Linc's been out here from the beginning. He must be freezing.' The sister voice sure knew how to lay the extra guilt on. That thought made her go into a frenzy again as she searched high and low for white hair.

"Linc this isn't funny anymore! I'm sorry I called you bad luck! Let's go inside and go to bed." Lynn received no response. She was getting desperate and she knew it. Lincoln would always accept an apology. If he didn't come out after an apology that meant…

'Go to sleep. The jinx is gone. I say good riddance.'

"Shut up!" Lynn almost forgot to keep the volume of her voice down. Lynn could feel her anger start up again as she grinded her teeth.

'Let's go tell Lori! Lori will think of something!' Just like that her spike of anger started to simmer down. She had a priority.

Lincoln.

Lynn didn't care if she sounded like a stampede as she rushed up the stairs to the eldest sisters' room. She leapt onto the bed as she started shaking her older sister. She didn't care that her abrupt assault startled her.

"Lori! Lori wake up!"

"What do you want?! Do you have any idea how la-" Lori's rant was caught short as she saw Lynn's face in the moonlight. Lynn had tears forming at the corner of her eyes as her visage was fixed in anguish. That instantly put her on alert. "What's wrong? You have a nightmare?"

"Linc's gone…"

It took a few moments for Lori's brain to wake up. When the day's events caught up with her she wanted to tell Lynn he was probably asleep outside.

"He isn't outside. I checked."

Lori knew Lincoln. She knew him since he was born, and he came to her for advice. She knew how resourceful he was whenever she had to watch her siblings.

"He probably went to Clyde's house." It was something Lincoln would do. Clyde was always Lincoln's first plan whenever dealing with anything related to his sisters.

Lori lifted her blanket and patted the little space she had available in her bed. "Here. You can sleep with me tonight and we'll call Clyde later okay?"

Lynn didn't look that convinced. Lori could see Lynn's eyes dart back in forth in thought before she made the decision. She forcefully pulled Lynn under the covers and held her shaking sister.

They would call Clyde in the day and tell him to put Lincoln on the phone. Maybe the sound of Lincoln's voice would ease whatever was happening with Lynn.

* * *

It wasn't the light that Lincoln first became aware of. It was the smell. It wasn't a bad smell per say, but a smell that made him first think of strawberries.

The second thing that his brain queued in on was warmth on his back and arms wrapped around him. There were exhales of breath on the top of his back.

'Someone probably snuck in last night.' It wasn't an odd occurrence, but it was rare. Sometimes their younger siblings would have a nightmare and would sneak in an elder's bed. Most of the time they went to Lori. On the very rare occasion they would go to him.

'Alright brain, you can figure this out. It's not Luna, strawberries too girly. That also cancels out Lucy, Lynn, Lana, Lily and Lisa. The arms are too long to be Lola.'

He tried to move to see who it was without waking them up. He couldn't see which sister's face it was, but the long dark blonde hair let him know it wasn't Luan.

Blonde hair filled his vision. That means it was either Leni or Lori spooning him right now. The hair was too long to be Lori, so it had to be his huggy sister Leni. With the mystery of his bedmate being solved he closed his eyes to fall back asleep.

'Wait a second… Leni has pale blonde hair. Lori is the one with dark blonde hair.'

Brain wide awake he moved to see who was holding him.

He wasn't afraid to admit to almost screaming.

A single half lidded eye was peeking out from their veil of hair. That single grey eye held neither panic, or calmness. It was just there.

Staring.

"Sleep well?" Lincoln didn't remember if he slept well. He nodded slowly.

"A-a-and you?"

The one single eye looked up above his head. He looked up as well to see an alarm clock that read 7:03 AM.

"It's Saturday and it's still early. Go back to sleep." With their words finished the eye closed.

Lincoln wanted to agree, yet there was no way he could go back to sleep.

'Who is this person, and why am I in bed with them?'

As he laid there in the bed staring at the wall, the previous day started returning. His breath hitched as the racing thoughts passed by. Tears started to build up and a sob-

"Hey…" The hold on him got a bit tighter as he was pressed closer to the stranger. "We'll think about where to go from here later. Just get some more rest now."

Okay, now he was a bit uncomfortable.

"I have to use the washroom." He almost took the entire blanket with him when the foot pressed him out of the bed. When he looked back he could see the one eye glaring at him before it covered itself with the blanket.

After rubbing his sore rear end Lincoln tried to recall the way to the washroom. The previous night's events came with him as he wandered the unfamiliar rooms. Each room he passed was well kept, a far cry from what he was used to in the Loud house. There was always a toy left out from one of the younger siblings and there was always a messed cause by someone.

Everything here was too tidy. Nothing was out of place in the house.

The picture frames that aligned the walls were all meticulously leveled, not like his house where some were lopsided due to someone running down the stairs.

As he looked closely at each photograph he noticed something strange. There were a few where there was a family of three, but Carol looked much younger in them. You can tell they were related by how similar Carol looked to them. The more recent ones only showed the father by himself, or Carol by herself.

There was none of her mother.

When he found his way to the washroom he locked the door and sat down on the toilet.

"Alright Lincoln. Time to make sense of your life."

* * *

Lori wasn't in a bad mood per say. It was more of an irritated and exasperated one. As soon as morning shone upon the Loud house Lynn slammed open her door and rushed downstairs. The slamming of her feet on each of the steps woke up all the Loud siblings. She was in the middle of walking to the bathroom when the twin's room door slammed open.

"Augh! Do you have any idea what time it is?!" As if her yell was a call to arms all the Loud siblings' doors started to open showing half asleep faces.

"Yeah Lori. It's totes too early to be slamming doors."

"Leni, that was _Lynn_ slamming our door open." Lori told her half-asleep roommate.

"Yeah Big Sis. What's with Lynn being in a rush this morning? Her game isn't until afternoon." Lola's twin asked, the little tomboy looked like a zombie.

"Lynn says Lincoln wasn't outside last night. As soon as she woke up I guess she wanted to check if he was still there."

"Wait a second dudette. Why would little brah be sleeping outside?" Luna's brain wasn't up to par in the mornings. None of the Loud siblings were morning people.

It took all her sisters to point at Lincoln's doorway for her memory to start coming back to her. There were planks of wood boarding up Lincoln's door.

"Ah. Right."

The creaking of the steps made all the siblings turn their attention to the last sister to appear. Lynn appeared at the staircase with a look of devastation on her face, tears threatening to spill just like last night.

"Lori, he's not outside…"

All the siblings felt their heart stop at that statement. Lori could see it on all their faces. Any minute now and all the other sisters would be in a frenzy in worry for their only brother. A frenzy that would quickly escalate into something more if no one did any situation control. Her heart stopped as well, but she was the oldest. She had to run sister control.

"Lynn, I told you last night. Lincoln probably spent the night at Clyde's. We'll call them later. Let's all just get ready for the day. You have a game later, don't you?"

After that statement a typical Loud house morning commenced.

Starting with lining up for the washroom.

* * *

Carol wasn't in a bad mood per say. It was more of an irritated and exasperated one. It was a Saturday morning, one of the only two days she was able to sleep in during the week. Her normal routine involved waking up at ten on the weekends.

Instead her eyes opened at seven. Seven! All because of her bunkmate shuffling around in the morning.

She knocked on the bathroom door. Either this kid had the longest bathroom ritual, or he was up to something in there.

"Kid. You've been in there for almost an hour already." What in the world could a twelve-year-old kid lock himself in the bathroom for that long be up to. As soon as she asked herself that question a look of disgust appeared on her face "I swear to God if you're choking the chicken in there I'm going to make you sanitize the entire place."

As soon as she finished her sentence the boy in question opened the door. He peered up at her in confusion and she cocked an eyebrow in return.

"Carol. What does 'choking the chicken' mean?" Her eyebrow went back down.

"If you don't know I'm not going to explain. What were you doing in there for so long?" Carol didn't really want to ask that question. As soon as she said it she wished she could take it back. She didn't _really_ need to know what people did in the bathroom.

"I was just thinking. About. Things I guess." She watched as Lincoln nervously shifted feet and scratched his one elbow.

Lincoln stared at Carol expecting her expression to change. He could imagine any one of his older sisters in the exact same position Carol was in. As soon as they saw how he was acting their faces would soften and comforting words would flow out. Leni would give a hug, Luan would crack a joke.

"Hmph. Let's go eat."

He was kind of shocked that the young woman just huffed and turned away. Any one of his sisters would meddle and try and get whatever was on his mind out of him. Then again, should he really be shocked?

Carol wasn't one of his sisters.

Lincoln was on edge while he was following Carol. It wasn't anything about the girl that was unsettling. It was something about the house itself. In his house you couldn't even hear yourself think because of all the noise. In Carol's you could hear another person breathing, that's how quiet the place was.

Lincoln wasn't used to quiet.

He wanted to say something, anything to get rid of how eerie silent the place was. What could he talk about though? Carol was six years his senior.

The answer came to him as he was passing the living room. He paused to admire what was in front of him.

"You have a lot of awards…" Off to the side was a giant display case. A little smaller than the one back at the Loud house, but Carol's was different in another way.

"Sure?"

"You really do." He admitted in amazement. "My family has a case like this at home, but it has all my siblings' achievements. Yours is just as big with just as many. And it's all you."

"I guess." Carol didn't really seem that interested. She instead looked a little bit more uncomfortable about the whole thing. She turned back and stood beside him as they looked at the display case.

Lincoln was expecting her to beam with pride at her achievements. He could only dream of having as many trophies, ribbons, and medals as her. Instead the girl just stared at it as if it meant nothing.

"You don't seem to really care about all these awards." Lincoln finally let out.

"Because I don't." Carol admitted with a sigh. "They're shiny and stuff, but all they really are is a giant paperweight. I'm not the kind of girl that wants to hold on to past achievements forever."

"What?"

"The past helped make me. The present is me. The future is what I will be." With those cryptic words Carol continued her trek to the kitchen.

* * *

The Loud sisters gathered in Lori's room and were staring at her in anticipation. Lori kept her ear to the phone as she listened to the device dialing.

"McBride residence."

"Hey Clyde. It's Lori." She greeted.

"L-L-L-Lori?! Error! Error! System shutting down…" She cringed as she heard the thud from the other end. She held the phone away from her ear to stare at it in confusion before she looked at her sisters. Each and everyone of them now stared at her with a dead pan look.

"Welp… I literally should have seen that one coming." She admitted embarrassedly.

"You clearly did not factor in Clyde'sh obsheshion with you, did you oldesht shishter." It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement coming from Lisa.

"Well I didn't hear any of you guys volunteer to call him." Lori defended herself.

The oldest Loud sister looked towards Lynn. Ever since last night she's looked on edge. She was hoping that contacting Lincoln would put the sporty girl at ease. Now the poor girl looked like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

She wasn't the only one to notice however. Luan was closing in and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Lynn. We can tell-en-phone him later! Hahaha! Geddit?" The family prankster tried to lighten the mood. _Tried_ being the keyword.

"Sigh. Not the time Luan. Lynn, you should go and get ready for the game."

"Yeah! Lincoln is okay. You'll see." Lana tried to comfort Lynn as well, but even Lily could sense Lana didn't trust her own words.

"Why don't you get ready for your game by praying to your baseball Gods or something?" Lola said as she remembered Lynn's pregame rituals.

Lynn didn't even budge from her spot. She looked like a shell-shocked soldier with her thousand-yard stare. All the other sisters stared at each other. Each one silently asking the others on what they should do. The fact that Lynn wasn't even willing to move on her own for her pregame rituals filled them with doubts.

It was Luna that made the first move to break the stalemate.

"Hey! Don't worry dude. I'll call Clyde later and get in touch with little brah myself alright?" It was only with that reassurance that Lynn started to move. It wasn't her usual energetic self, and everyone knew it.

* * *

Lincoln sat at the table across from Carol. He tried eating the food in front of him, but he didn't really feel that hungry. He was too nervous, and his stomach felt queasy. He was never able to really socialize with older kids. He has older sisters and Lori's boyfriend Bobby, but they weren't strangers.

He watched as the young woman lazily ate her breakfast. What was he supposed to talk about in this situation? All he knew about Carol Pingrey was that Lori refers to the girl as her arch nemesis or something. There were many times in his life where Lori would go into rants about how 'Carol achieved this' or 'Carol won this award that'.

"Watching people eat is a creepy hobby kid." Carol's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She didn't even appear to be paying attention to him.

"Sorry." He quickly apologized and gazed back down at his food. The uncomfortable silence fell upon the two again. Or maybe it was just him feeling the silence.

"Sorry about falling asleep in your bed last night." Lincoln said after a moment.

"Don't worry about it." Just like that Carol dismissed his apology. "I'd rather not have my father call the cops while I'm asleep and have to explain why we have a random child on our couch."

Carol finished her meal and started to wash her dishes. He hurriedly finished his own meal and brought his own plate to the sink. As she was washing he would take the clean plates and dry them. Like Lucy's chore back at the house. If he was staying here he vowed to make himself useful.

He owed her that much and more.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" Carol asked as they fell into a routine of putting everything away.

Lincoln stopped as he heard the question. What could he do now?

He could possibly go over to Clyde's or Ronnie Anne's place. Clyde's parents knew his own though. He doubted he could stay there for long without too many questions being asked. Ronnie Anne's was an option, but he could already see Ronnie Anne storming the Loud house and trying to fight everyone.

"I don't know." He finally let out as he sat back down at the table.

Either of his options were unappealing to him. He didn't really want to see any of his family. The emotions swirling in him were too raw. If he went back home either he would explode on them, or they would keep him out.

"Do you mind if I stay here?" It was a long shot, but it seemed like the only option available. Carol already took him in. None of his siblings would even dream of looking for him here.

"For a while sure. But I can't keep you here forever. Believe me, if I could help you that much I would." That was a lie mixed with truth. Carol didn't really want to take care of a kid for an indefinite amount of time.

"Then why can't I stay?" He asked quietly.

Carol felt a sting of guilt when she saw his reaction. It was something he had to hear, even if it wasn't what he wanted. He looked so lost and vulnerable. As if someone just killed his puppy. She almost didn't want to continue the conversation and just hug the poor kid.

But someone had to make the hard decisions. Someone had to address the hard issues.

Someone must press forward. If only to lead the way for him.

"You're in a shitty position. I'm not going to deny that." She let out after swallowing the lump in her throat. "I can't even begin to relate to how you feel, and I don't even know how I should deal with this. So instead I'm going to tell you the truth, for good or for bad."

Lincoln gave her all his attention. He saw as she tried to calm herself by closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she was different. Gone was the lethargic and apathetic person from when they first woke up. On her face was a look he wouldn't be surprised to see upon the president of a big wig company.

"Laws." She let out. "You're a minor kid, and so am I. From a certain standpoint, I abducted you. Me taking you in is kidnapping. I can go to jail for letting you live with me."

That was frightening thought to Carol. The fact that she may have to serve jail time if her actions were noticed by the authorities. She may be able to get off with a lighter sentence if she told them how the situation came to be, but was it worth it?

"Second, legality issues. You need signatures from your parents for lots of things, right? I can't sign anything for you. Something as simple as a trip requires a signature of consent from your parents. We may be able to fool some people if they don't look too hard, but all lies come to light eventually."

"These are only two of the issues. There's many more." Carol paused as she watched the conflicted looks flash upon Lincoln's face. "So now that you know your own situation. What do you plan to do?"

Lincoln felt as if the fate of the whole world was on his shoulders. He could imagine that this was how Ace Savvy felt whenever he had to save the day.

Where did he go from here? "I… Don't know…"

"Hey, it's okay." Carol went around the table to give Lincoln a hug. It was an awkward hug, as if she didn't know where to place her hands. It was a far different experience to the thugs he was used to receiving from his sisters. "There's nothing normal about this situation. If I were in your shoes I wouldn't know what to do either."

After a moment Carol pulled away from the hug. She kept comforting arms on his shoulders as they stared each other in the eyes. "The thing I want you to think about now is what you want. Do you want to go to the police?"

He was in shock from the question. Then again, she did offer him that option last night. He was upset with his family. He wasn't afraid to admit that fact. He didn't want to go back to them yet either.

That didn't mean he wanted his family to go to jail.

"No. I want to go back to my family. But I don't want to go back right now. I think I need some space from them."

"Alright." Carol accepted that answer with a sigh. It wouldn't be easy if she went to the police, but at least steps would be taken to prevent an incident like this from happening again. It wasn't just her choice, it was Lincoln's, she would have to accept his answer.

"I'll let you stay here as long as you follow through with my conditions." Lincoln nodded his head to signal Carol she could continue.

"If by the end of next weekend, you don't make up with your family I will call the cops. If there is even a sign of a missing child poster or something on the news about you I will tell the authorities." She stopped after that. Waiting for Lincoln to agree to what she said.

A denial of the first term was at the edge of his tongue. He held it in as he remembered what she said earlier. Carol was taking a risk for him. She didn't have to, but she was. Was it fair for her to risk her future for a stranger?

No. It wasn't.

"That's fair."

Carol nodded to his agreement of her condition. It may seem like a harsh condition on the surface, but in Carol's mind it was for the best. She started her next condition.

"You also need to go to school on Monday."

"I don't have anything though. What am I going to wear to school? My pajamas?" Lincoln was quick to point out. The only thing he really had now was the clothes on his back.

"It's why we're going to go shopping today. I may not have enough money to let you live here for a month, but I do have enough to buy you some clothes and school supplies." Carol said as she stood up and started heading to her room.

Just like that the weight on his shoulders eased off a bit. The heavy atmosphere of their conversation seemingly dissipating.

"Now c'mon, we need to find some of my clothes that fit you."

"You're going to dress me up in girl clothes?" He almost didn't want to follow her after her admission.

"You live with ten sisters. I figured you'd be used to that by now." Carol quipped back with a smirk on her face.

The sad part about that statement is that Lincoln couldn't deny it.

* * *

"I look weird..." Lincoln said as he stared at himself in Carol's vanity.

It felt like it took forever to find an outfit they could both agree on. A pair of her capri jeans, and a grey hoodie. It wasn't a _bad_ outfit, but the sizes and proportions just looked off to the boy.

"I'm sorry I don't have the figure of a twelve-year-old boy." He could see Carol rolling her eyes in the mirrors reflection while she crossed her arms. "I'm working with what I have here."

'At least this is only until I can get some new clothes.' Lincoln sighed to himself.

"This is going to be embarrassing…" He tried to keep his voice down. Either he failed, or Carol had very sharp ears.

"Oh, don't be such a baby. Now let's go shopping for more clothes." She seemed a bit too excited to Lincoln.

He could see some resemblances to his sisters in Carol. Their love of shopping being at the forefront of his mind. There was just one little issue with going shopping right now though.

"You do know I won't be able to pay you back right…"

"Don't worry about it. Me taking care of you will be my good deed for the month. Or my community service hours… Don't know how I can sell taking care of a homeless person with my teacher."

He couldn't help but shake his head at his current guardian.

He's heard the stories from his sister of this girl. How at around every corner Carol Pingrey was the top of everything. Social events, academics, sports, if she had a finger in it she was always on top. It drove Lori crazy on how well and easily she was able to topple almost every obstacle in her path. The way she was acting now completely threw his head for a loop and shattered any perceived conception of her he had.

"Are we going to the mall?" His sisters like going to the mall. It was one of the few family events that all the females could agree on when they had to spend quality time with each other. He did not want to see them at this moment.

"We'll go to _a_ mall. I was thinking of driving to the one in the next town. Theirs is bigger and has a better selection." She admitted while heading to the door and grabbing the keys off the rack.

"Shouldn't you leave a note for your father?"

She froze in her spot and tilted her head in thought for a second. In his house someone had to know where everyone was always. Leaving the house without letting someone know just didn't make sense to him.

Carol turned around and looked for a spare piece of paper and pen to leave a short message on. It didn't take long for her to finish. The note was short from what he could read.

 _Dad,_

 _Was asked to babysit classmate's little brother for a while. Took him out shopping._

 _Carol_

"That's all you're going to say?" It was short and delivered the message, but it kind of seemed impersonal. More like a report from an employee to a supervisor.

"That's how we've always done it. When we get back we'll probably find a new note on the table saying something like 'Take care, call if you need me.' We've been like that since my mother died." Carol responded with a shrug.

"Now hurry up, I want to get there nice and early." Carol tried to hurry the boy as she held the door open.

"So, uh, do you always communicate with your Dad by leaving notes?"

"More or less. It's kind of our routine you know? I go to school during the day while he sleeps. He works during the night while I sleep. He makes breakfast for me before sleeping and I make lunch for him before leaving for school."

'Something's strange here.' Lincoln thought to himself.

In the Loud house everyone ate together. In the mornings everyone would be together, in the afternoon they would eat dinner together. The way Carol spoke about the subject made him think she never saw her father at all.

"Do you guys even see each other or eat dinner together?" He couldn't help but ask.

"That only happens during a holiday. On the very rare occasion Dad's vacations would overlap, but the last time that happened was 3 years ago." Lincoln could tell she was uncomfortable with the subject. The buckling of their seatbelts was like the que for the conversation to end.

They drove in silence as Lincoln stared out the window and commit everything to memory.

If he was going to be staying with Carol for a while he'd have to get familiar with the area.


	3. Chapter 3

**For Want Of A Sibling**

 **Chapter 03**

* * *

Lincoln tried raking his brain for a plan. He wanted his siblings and parents to welcome him home with open arms. On the other hand, he didn't want to see them right now.

'If I do go back, would they just turn their backs on me again?'

That was the one thought that held him back from returning to his home. Why would he bother going there only to be turned away once more?

It wasn't just about his family accepting him, it was about his family _wanting_ him back. He thought of ideas, even entertained the thought of stealing the team mascot uniform and attending Lynn's game. That entire plan's success depended on Lynn's team winning the game though. Should he really leave things up to chance?

"Okay. What's up?" Carol's voice cut him off from his thoughts.

"Huh?" He turned his head to face Carol. Once again, Carol wasn't even paying attention to him. Her eyes were half lidded and stared straight ahead on the road. He didn't know how she could tell something was bothering him.

Carol was getting weirded out by Lincoln's behavior. Through the corner of her eyes she was able to see the boy go through a myriad of emotions. Wide eyed revelation, sad eyed disappointment, it was starting to irritate her.

"We've been driving for twenty minutes and you've been making faces for ten." She explained. Her half-asleep gaze snapped to full awareness a second after she said that. "Oh, thank _God_! Starbucks!"

Before Lincoln could even reply the momentum of the car made him slam into the door.

"Hold that thought. Anything you want to tell me can wait until I can get caffeine." She told him as she pulled into the drive thru. "You want anything?"

"No thanks." He managed to grumble as he rubbed his sore head.

"I'm offering you coffee…" Carol gazed at him cautiously as he fidgeted in his seat. "And you're turning it down?!" She looked appalled at the very idea.

"I don't like the taste." He admitted. "It's too bitter." Every time he tried to drink the brown sludge he had to spit it out immediately. Just thinking of the taste made him cringe.

Carol leaned over towards him, matching her eye level with his. She stared into his eyes, searching for something before she finally found it. He started to sweat in nervousness of her proximity. "You're inhuman…"

"Welcome to Starbucks. May I take your order?" Their conversation was put on hold as the static voice cut in. Carol's attention was immediately taken by the order screen giving Lincoln some breathing room.

"I need the _biggest_ Caramel Macchiato you sell, and the smallest peppermint white chocolate mocha you got."

"So, a trenta caramel macchiato and a short peppermint white chocolate mocha?"

"Sure." Carol rolled her eyes. She never really understood the fancy names for the sizes.

"I don't like coffee Carol." Lincoln tried to convey his revulsion for the beverage.

"Someone just gave you the wrong coffee before." Carol dismissed his words with a wave of her hand as she pulled up to the window.

Lincoln groaned into his hands. This situation was just like one with his sisters.

Complaints falling on deaf ears. Them knowing better. Him not getting a choice in the matter.

'Yup. Just like my sisters…'

* * *

"How many times have I had to tell you Loud? Whatever happens off the field stays off the field. Get your head in the game!" Lynn stood before her coach with her head down in shame.

She was letting her team down today.

'You let something more important down yesterday.' She clicked her tongue as the thought whispered into her ear.

She did all her pregame rituals, all the things for good luck, and even her tribute to the softball Gods. She did them before all her games, but today was different.

She didn't do them in hopes of winning. She performed them out of habit.

The whole game she didn't perform to her usual standards. Fastballs weren't fast, curveballs didn't curve, and her drop pitches didn't drop. Her teammates tried their best to catch up, and now everything fell on her.

"Got it coach." Her heart wasn't in the reply she gave as she accepted the bat. She took a quick look at the field and realized how much everyone would be counting on her.

It was do or die time. Her team was losing by two, it was the last inning. Two of her teammates already struck out, but the others managed to get all the bases loaded.

It was all on her now.

'The softball gods can only be appeased by our victory! We can win this! These guys are nothing!'

"Shut up…" She muttered to herself.

She watched as the pitcher prepared to throw. It was as if time slowed down to her. All that remained in the world was her, the pitcher, and the ball. She could see it, the arm whirling about as the ball was released. It was soaring through the air, right towards her.

A basic fastball compared to her own.

'This is going to be an easy hit."

She was in mid swing when she saw it.

"Lynn…" She raised her bat in time to avoid hitting an in tears Lincoln.

"Strike one!" The call of the umpire brought her back as she heard the crowd booing.

Shaking her head, she tried to clear her thoughts. She saw as the pitcher prepared to throw the ball again.

'C'mon we can do this!'

She swung again and just like before, the visage of Lincoln appeared. The hurt and confused look in his face headed towards her.

"I'm sorry Linc…" She apologized as he came closer. She didn't even bother trying to swing.

"Strike two!"

"Come on Loud! Get your head in the game!"

'Why are you thinking about him at a time like this?! Even without his presence he gives us bad luck! Who needs a little brother like that?!'

The pitcher had a cocky grin on her face. It reminded her of her own. If they were in opposite circumstances that would be her exact look. For the third and final time the pitcher winded up to throw.

As the world came to a crawl, the ball transformed again. The face she sees in the mirror sneered at her as she came closer.

'Lincoln was a horrible brother!'

"Shut." She dug her lead foot into the ground and grit her teeth as she glared at her own face. "UP!" With a roar and empowered with her fury, she swung with all her might. She wanted to hurt the monster that _dared_ say something about _her_ little brother.

She watched as the devil on her shoulder flew out of the field.

"It's a grand slam…" The announcer's voice brought her back to reality. His voice of disbelief was said in a whisper, but it carried over. Everyone watched the ball leave in awe. "It's a grand slam! Lynn Loud has won the squirrel's the game!" The now excited voice boomed everywhere.

She started lightly jogging towards first base. The little monster that she thought she got rid of coming back to whisper in her ear. 'See Lynn? This is what you were born for. Can you not hear the crowds? Can you not see the look of anguish on your opponents?'

On any other day Lynn would agree. She was in her element and unstoppable. The jubilation of her crowd and teammates didn't matter to her.

Not today.

'We shouldn't be here. We should be looking for Lincoln.' She knew it. She knew Lincoln was missing. Lori tried to ease her anxiety last night by telling her Lincoln was at Clyde's. Her reassurance worked too last night.

A nagging at the back of her head said otherwise.

Her sisters may not have realized it, but she did. She should be out there looking for her brother. Instead of searching for the boy she was here, at a game.

At. A. Game!

She won the team the game. Her little brother that she wanted away from her games was missing. She forced him away. She wanted him gone. Now he was gone.

How was she supposed to feel?!

'You should feel ashamed…'

When she reached home base her family came and swarmed her. She should have reveled in their congratulations. But she couldn't.

Especially when she saw Lori and Luna's expression.

* * *

Luna always enjoyed going out to support her family. Each and everyone of them had something that set them apart from the others, but the unity they shared kept them together. In the mornings you could hear the excited chatter of the Loud sister's as they spoke of the day's events to come.

In any event that they went to. If you were to ask anyone where the Loud family was, they would be pointed out immediately. If only because they were the loudest.

It was something she took pride in.

Today would have been a normal day of cheering on her sporty sister, but something threw the routine off balance.

Luna was startled awake by the slam of the door and the rushing of feet. While not rare, it also wasn't a frequent thing to happen in the Loud house.

It was how Lynn acted all morning.

First was the exclamation that Lincoln disappeared. Lynn looked utterly lost and devastated when she made that statement. Everyone worked to calm down and reassure her with minimal success. Lynn only calmed down when Luna herself said she would get in touch with Lincoln.

It was the eighth inning where she decided to make good on her word.

She left the bleachers and went to find a quiet place near the washrooms to make the call. Leaning up against the wall she pressed her cellphone to her ear.

"McBride Residence." She was glad to hear the voice of Lincoln's best friend.

"Hey dude, it's Luna." She greeted in return. She liked Clyde, out of all of Lincoln's guy friends he was the most amusing. Especially when it came to him and her oldest sister. The boy's crush was obvious from day one.

"Hey Luna! How are things?"

"Busy like always." She responded with a sigh. "I just wanna speak to mah little brah. Is he there?" She asked as she fidgeted in place.

"Lincoln? I haven't seen him since school on Friday." As soon as he said that Luna started shaking. Lynn's statement earlier this morning echoed into her ear.

"Alright. If you see him can you tell him to call home or my cell?" She tried to get rid of the dryness of her lips by licking them.

"Sure."

As soon as she received confirmation she hung up. She sped walked back to her family and headed straight to Lori.

"Hey dude. Can I talk to you in private for a second?" Luna kept an eye on the rest of her family. All of them were focused on Lynn and her game right now. It was the perfect time to pull Lori away.

When they made it away from their family and all the noise Luna faced her oldest sister. Lori stood there with a concerned look but she was keeping silent. All she was doing was staring at Luna trying to figure out what was wrong.

Swallowing the lump in her throat and biting her lower lip, Luna tried to find words. They continued staring at each other for a time, and Luna didn't know what to say.

"Well? I'm waiting." Lori eventually crossed her arms and started tapping her foot in impatience. If Luna didn't know Lori she would think Lori didn't care. Lori always cared though, she just rarely showed it.

Lori could have walked off at any time. She could have chosen not to listen to her. She had to say something.

"Lincoln wasn't at Clyde's." She finally spit out.

Lori's face turned from narrow eyed stern into wide eyed shock. Luna saw as Lori gasped for breath and she mirrored the act.

Lori was the one that got her composure back first. She whipped out her own cellphone and dialed a person's number.

"I'm going to try and call boo boo bear. You try Lincoln's cell." Lori ordered as Bobby answered the call. She dialed her little brother's number while trying to over hear Lori's conversation.

She scrolled down her contacts to her brother and pushed dial. She didn't have to wait long before she heard a voice.

"We're sorry; you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again." Luna was finding it hard to breath. She didn't even bother hanging up, instead just standing there with the phone beside her ear. The message replaying over, and over.

"He didn't go to Ronnie Anne's. Any luck on your end?" Lori hung up her phone and turned to look at her. All she could do was hold out her phone, a silent message to take it from her.

Lori took the phone and gave her a confused look, before eyeing the phone itself. Placing it against her ear she listened.

As she was listening Luna watched as life left Lori's eyes and her face turned to horror.

* * *

Lincoln sat in the car holding his newly acquired 'coffee'. When Carol first handed the beverage to him she pulled over and told him three things.

If it's too hot, blow on it to cool it down a bit. Take it in sips. Drink it all.

He eyed it like his worst hated enemy. He took a few careful sniffs of it before he realized the difference. Unlike the strong scent of regular coffee this one had a subtler smell of coffee and a stronger smell of chocolate with a hint of mint.

"Well?" Carol eyed him as she took a sip of her own gigantic cup. She was watching for his reaction. "I'm not moving this car until you take a sip."

He stared at her. Silently pleading for her to not make him drink the thing.

She stared back. Waiting patiently for him to make the first move.

He narrowed his eyebrows in an attempt of defiance.

She raised an eyebrow.

Lincoln sighed the sigh of the damned before bringing the cup to his lips. When the liquid touched his tongue, he didn't feel like spitting it out. It wasn't the bitterness he was expecting, but instead got a nice surprise when the drink was sweet.

"It's good." He admitted quietly. He watched as Carol placed a satisfied smirk on her face before starting the car back up.

"I told you. Someone just gave you the wrong coffee."

The car ride was silent for a time, as Carol allowed him to enjoy his drink as she drove. They were already outside of Royal Woods as he watched the trees pass by him. It was when he finished his drink that Carol broke the silence.

"You ready to spill what's bothering you now?"

"You wouldn't understand." He refused to look Carol in the eyes right now. Instead he continued to watch the blur of greens and browns.

"You're absolutely right. I wouldn't understand." Carol admitted causing him to look at her. If he were to tell that to his sisters they would look at him as if they already understood.

"I probably never will." Carol continued, eyes never once leaving the road. "Not if you don't speak. I may not understand your situation. I may not be able to relate to your situation. That doesn't mean I can't _listen_ to your thoughts on the situation."

Carol continued using her peripherals to watch Lincoln. He stared at her amazement? She really didn't know why he would look at her like that. It slowly started to change into the forlorn expression that was starting to irritate her.

"I just need to figure stuff out on my own for a bit…" He muttered to her in a whisper before turning away again.

"If that's your choice. That's fine." Carol nodded her head in acceptance. Everyone had a right to keep their thoughts private. She would have to respect that, even if she wanted nothing more than to hear what was going on in his head.

"You're not going to pry? You're not going to tell me what's best and what I should do?" Through his entire life, this entire situation was abnormal. It was confusing to know someone would just accept that he didn't want to talk about something.

She didn't reply verbally this time, instead he watched as she shrugged her shoulders in a 'what can you do' gesture.

Carol kept trying to think about a subject to talk about. The silence was unbearable, and she didn't want to play music too loud like she always did in case he did want to talk.

'What do I talk to a kid about?' She tried to think.

That's when it hit her.

"So, as you know my name's Carol. I know you're Lori's brother, but that's it. What's your name?" She introduced herself.

"Lincoln." He responded automatically. "I thought you knew that?"

"I have never once called your name since I found you." As soon as Carol said that Lincoln started thinking. Every time Carol spoke with him, it was always kid.

It was a lot better than the 'twerp' that Lori always called him by. It just felt strange to realize that Carol went a whole night and morning with him without once knowing his name. It wasn't even funny really, but he couldn't help but start laughing.

"So you do have a face other than your 'lost kitty' face Lynx." Carol said as she slowly started to smirk again.

"'Lost kitty' face? Really?" He smiled as he tried to picture himself as a cat looking lost and confused. Only for the image make him start laughing to himself again.

Internally, Carol was relieved. The atmosphere earlier was killing her. She promised to watch over Lincoln for a week. She wouldn't have lasted another day if he was mopey for the entire duration.

At least the boy was smiling and laughing now, even if it was only for a short time.

"Welp, here we are." Carol parked the car and started fiddling with her phone. "Ready to go?"

Lincoln stared into his empty cup. Before he stated she wouldn't understand, she openly stated she wouldn't understand either. She acted detached and distant, but she was willing to help him and take care of him.

She's been helpful and caring so far.

"I want to go back to my family." He announced slowly. He paused to take in Carol's reaction. Carol looked indifferent to that statement. She only cocked a brow when he stopped talking. "I don't want it to be the same as always. I want them to appreciate me. I want them to _want_ me."

"So, you've made a decision." She said as she put her phone in her pocket.

He nodded in response and he saw Carol smile. It wasn't her smug smirk, but a beatific smile. A smile a person would give when another makes them proud. It was only there for a bit before it vanished, but Lincoln saw it.

"So, what's your plan of action Lynx?"

"I have no idea." He spent the entire ride trying to think of things he could do. "I tried to think of something, but nothing really stuck out." He was ashamed to admit.

'If I can't think of a solution, maybe Carol can.'

"Hey Carol. How do you make someone want something back?" That was the main question the young boy asked himself. Without knowing how to make his family _want_ him back, they wouldn't _take_ him back.

"Easy. Make them suffer without it." Carol said with a straight face.

"I'm sorry?" Lincoln couldn't have heard that right. He must have heard her say something else entirely.

Carol swayed her head side to side. She tried to think of a way to articulate and explain what she was trying to say.

"You let their fear overpower them." She began. "You make it so they can't sleep without it. You make their own mind come up with something that happens to it that it's so horrible they couldn't imagine it happening without you bringing it up."

'What?' Lincoln's mind froze as she explained.

"Then you give them some hope. Give them a glimpse of hope and let them reach out for it." She showed held out her hands with the palms facing upwards. Ever so slowly she started closing her right hand. "Then when their fingers brush against it, when it seems like it can finally be in their grasp again…"

"You crush that hope like a bug." She finished slamming her closed fist into her palm.

"How can you _think_ of something like that?!" Lincoln was aghast with disbelief. None of what he saw of Carol so far even _hinted_ at a side like this.

"Oh. You know. Teenage girl stuff." She said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You ready to go shopping now?"

"No! Let's go back to the previous topic here." He scratched his head in frustration. "'Teenage girl stuff' does not involve crushing people's hope! Why would I want to crush my sisters' hope?"

"You asked me for my input. If someone were to hold my cup of coffee away from me in the morning I would want it. If they dropped it right when I had my fingers wrapping around the cup I would want a new one and guard it." Lincoln let out a sigh of relief.

He could even draw his own parallel. If someone were to take one of his Ace Savvy comics away, he would want it back. If they ripped it up he would probably want a new one. When she put it that way, it sounded less harsh than her previous statement.

"I'd buy the new coffee after I kick their butts," She continued as she put a finger to her cheek in though. "just to make sure they can't grab the next one. You know how it goes." No. No he really didn't.

Lincoln took a calming breath. Carol wasn't technically _wrong_ in what she was saying. It just came out wrong. That's all it was.

"What do you think I should do?"

"Nothing different. If anything, just don't see them at school on Monday." She made it sound so easy too.

"How do you propose I do that? I have four sisters that attend the same school as me."

Carol thought about that problem. It was easier to avoid someone if they had an entire city to wander around, but a school? If someone knew your schedule they would know where to find you.

The only way to avoid that was to hide in the crowd.

Carol reached a hand towards Lincoln's head. He didn't move, only following her hand with his eyes. She gently lifted a lock of his hair and started examining it closer.

"We have to do something about your hair…" She said while thinking. "White stands out a lot." It was a shame too. Lincoln's hair was unique. It set him apart from everyone else.

That was what they needed to get rid of. Anything that would make him stand out. Anything that anyone would see and think 'hey, there's Lincoln.'

She let go of the lock of hair she was playing with. Moving her hand even further out of his view, he felt her grab something no one usually touches.

"We need to get rid of that ostrich butt you have."

"It's called a turkey tail Carol." He corrected her. He took pride in that thing. It was one of his defining features.

"I don't care what you want to call it." Carol rolled her eyes in exasperation. "The bird butt has got to go Lynx."

* * *

Lori always led the meetings. It was a part of her duties as the oldest. She took pride in the fact that when she spoke, they listened.

Right now, she'd rather be literally anywhere else.

She eyed all her sisters to gauge their moods. All of them had confused looks right now except for herself, Luna, and Lynn.

Luna had a troubled look on her face as she rubbed her arm. Lynn was curled up into a ball, with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head tucked down.

She could only imagine what her own expression was.

"Lori?" Leni's voice drew her attention. "Like, is everything okay?"

She closed her eyes tight, in hopes that the tears wouldn't come. She took deep breaths to calm down.

"Guys…" She didn't want to say it. She didn't want to deal with the fall out.

But it was still her duty.

She braced herself for the whirlwind that was about to come.

She opened her eyes.

Luna started to look down, unable and unwilling to meet anyone else's gaze at the moment. Lynn's already small posture tried to become even smaller as she started to sniffle. Everyone else looked worried. You could feel the unease in the air.

"Lincoln's missing."

The only sound in the room was Lynn's sniffling. It may have been the reason why everyone was able to hear her mumble.

"I told you…"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: First I'd like to thank everyone reading this story so far. Second, thank you all the people that pointed out things I missed, the spelling errors, the fact that in chapter 1 I typed the same 2 paragraphs twice, and even the suggestions.**


	4. Chapter 4

**For Want Of A Sibling**

 **Chapter 04**

* * *

Lola scrutinized her older siblings with a critical eye. Lori was in front of all the other siblings; never letting her gaze fall on one sibling for too long.

'She's watching for our reactions.' Lola shifted her eyes and noted everyone else's expressions. Lori's announcement was as subtle as an explosion from Lisa's experiments. It came without notice and rocked the house.

'There's no way Linky would just disappear.' It had to be a lie; a joke made by Lori.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny Lori." Sarcasm dripping from each of her words as she shrugged her shoulders. "You got us. Now, what's this meeting _really_ about?"

She felt a hand land on her shoulder making her turn her head. She followed the arm and whom it belonged to before resting on Luan's eyes.

Luan forced the smaller girl's figure to face her. She rested one knee on the ground and made herself eye level with her younger sister. "I don't think she's joking Lola. Not even I would joke about something like this."

Luan believed Lori's words. She didn't believe them because or Lori's expression; she believed them because of Luna's expression. After the announcement was made she tried to meet Luna's eyes. She wanted to get a silent confirmation, a nod, that what was said was true.

She got the confirmation; just not how she wanted it. Luna was quiet, too quiet for the musically inclined teen. The musician of the family even refused to make eye contact with her and the others.

"Yeah right." Lola's voice brought Luan's attention to the smaller girl. Lola shrugged Luan's hands off her shoulders as she turned towards the door. "He's probably in his room right at this moment." Every step the small girl took sounded like thunder as she stormed out of the room intent on verifying for herself.

Each sibling took a moment for their mind to process what happened. Lola had the right idea. Find out for themselves if their brother was truly missing. Everyone darted out of the room to catch up to the pink dress wearing sibling.

They found her in front of Lincoln's door. His room was no longer boarded up. Was it possible that he snuck back into the house and removed the planks when no one was looking?

"Linc!" A tiny fist smashed on Lincoln's door. "Linc! If you're in there you better open this door right now mister!" Lola screeched as she kept hitting the door with her fist.

Perhaps it was the worry that she felt building up into a frenzy. Maybe it was just her naturally short fuse finally reaching its limit. Either way, Lola couldn't take it anymore. Scowling, she raised her foot and gave the door a mighty kick. Her siblings and herself did this a lot when bursting into Lincoln's room. She was expecting the door to swing open like all the times before.

The door didn't budge.

"Open!" Another kick shook the wooden barrier. "This!" The kicks came stronger and louder; but still the door wouldn't move. "DOOR!" The little girl finally screamed as her anger peaked.

Lola almost bit the hands that landed on her shoulders. "Hold up Lola." She growled and snarled at the person that kept her in place. Luan was looking at her calmly and gesturing to her side with a tilt of her head. "Let Leni pick the lock."

Like a puppy hearing its name called, Leni perked up. "Sure!" The excited chirp from the girl was at odds with the uncomfortable atmosphere. She extended a single finger to Lincoln's door. "I choose that one!"

Luna stared at her older sister. "I uh, don't think that's what she meant dude."

"Uh… Luan meant to unlock the door Leni." Lana was anxiously playing with her red cap as she attempted to clarify for her older sister.

They all loved Leni, but sometimes that girl…

"Why didn't she just say that?" Leni gave an exasperated eye roll before heading to the front of the crowd. All the siblings that were crowding around parted to the sides and watched.

Lori slapped a hand to her forehead and covered her eyes. "Leni, Luan literally ju-" She dragged her hand down as she cut herself off. Lori realized that if she tried to explain to Leni it may take them longer than needed. Instead, she pressed on. "Never mind. Can you open the door?"

"Sure! I totes got this. Let me just pick the lock." The pale blonde girl knelt and scrutinized the tumblers with the eye of an artisan. Reaching a dainty hand into her hair she removed a bobby pin and started her task.

Leni ignored the gazes of everyone while she worked. She, like everyone else, hoped that their brother was in his room. That after they opened the door and found him inside they would resume their normal life.

Everyone but Lucy. Lucy knew differently.

Lincoln wasn't Lucy's _younger_ brother. Lincoln was Lucy's _older_ brother. Lincoln wasn't only Lucy's first friend; he was more than that to her.

She wasn't like the five oldest Loud sisters. Lori, Leni, Luan, Luna, and Lynn knew Lincoln when he was but a baby. They helped raise him; they watched as he grew up. Lincoln viewed them as authority figures; with the possible exception of Lynn.

But to Lucy; Lincoln helped raise _her._ There were some things he would disclose to their older sisters, but she disclosed to him. She went to him for help; she went to him for advice; she went to him for safety. Through their trials in life, they made a bond.

That's why she knew he would be livid when they entered his room. If she really wanted access into his room she could climb through the vents. She could have unlocked the door from the inside. But if she did that while he was in there…

All his anger; all his frustration; all his emotions; she would be the first to have to deal with it.

Alone.

She loved her brother; truly she did. But being alone in a room with him without support was foolhardy.

Lincoln never did appreciate their surprise visits. She could imagine how volatile her older brother would be after everything that happened this week. She didn't want to be in there alone.

'My great grandson isn't behind that door child.'

The raven-haired child tilted her head towards the whisper. She felt _her_ presence; she was the only one who could in the family.

"Great Grandmother Harriet. If he isn't behind those doors; where is Lincoln?" Lucy whispered back to her deceased relative. Lucy could always hear the whispers of those that lingered, but her ancestor was a spirit that regularly conveyed knowledge to her. Great-grandmother Harriet could shed some light to the location of her missing siblings.

'You don't know what you have until it's gone. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' Sometimes her Great Grandmother would speak cryptically. Her messages weren't always welcome, but Lucy had to concede to her knowledge on certain matters.

Lucy could hear the pounding of her heart in her ears. Lincoln wasn't in his room. Her ancestor confirmed that. Great Grandmother Harriet wouldn't tell her where he was. Hopefully, she would answer at least one question with a straight answer.

"Is he safe?" If she wouldn't answer where he was; she could at least answer if he was well.

The click of Lincoln's lock tore her attention away from the spirit. The spirit never answered her inquiry anyways. Maybe there was a clue behind the door? Lincoln did have a habit of drawing up his plans and trying to hide them. It never really worked though; any of the siblings were able to find his hidden agendas.

"Linky? I'm coming inside okay?" Leni slowly pushed the door handle and poked her head inside. Her body was blocking the view from the others. Only Leni herself was able to see inside.

"Oh-Em-Gosh you guys!" Leni pulled her head back out and turned towards the others.

Lucy knew Lincoln wasn't inside; it was one of the reasons she wasn't surprised to see Leni's eyes hold panic inside them. She lowered her head and looked away from her siblings. Just because they couldn't see _her_ eyes; that didn't mean she couldn't see theirs. She didn't want to see their watery or panic-stricken eyes.

She did have to do a double-take at Leni's next words.

"Lincoln painted all his things invisible!" Lucy followed her stampeding sisters into her brothers' room.

She knew Lincoln wasn't in there. She wasn't expecting his things to not be in there as well!

With more emotion in her voice than anyone was used to; Lucy said what was on everyone's mind. "Where the heck are Lincoln's things?!"

* * *

Lincoln followed Carol as he eyed his surroundings cautiously. It was a weekend and the mall was packed with all sorts of people. Being in a mall surrounded by people wasn't that big an issue for the boy.

It was the stares and whispers that set him on edge.

He could feel the stares pierce his back as he walked beside Carol. He could hear the whispers as soon as they entered the mall. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he had a knowing feeling it was about him and his companion.

He knew he shouldn't be worried. They were in a different town; they shouldn't be that recognizable. But the sheer amount of people watching them was creepy.

It wasn't as if he didn't have an idea _why_ people were staring. Most of the stares were from people around Carol's age; and Carol was a very attractive teenager. Wherever they were walking she was turning heads. Adding in a nervous looking boy trailing behind her like a lost puppy didn't help. It would seem like an odd picture even to him.

Once again, he was reminded of the differences brought from his sisters and Carol. Walking with Carol in the mall was awkward. Walking with his sisters in the mall was natural. Almost everyone in Royal Woods knew at least one of the Loud siblings. He may not have looked like his sisters, but the white hair was a notifier of the only male Loud sibling.

"Carol?" He called out. The girl turned her head and raised an eyebrow. It was the only form of confirmation she gave him before he continued. "People are staring."

With a roll of her eyes, she continued walking. "Let them stare. If they don't do anything it's not our business. Just act natural, act like you belong; and no one will bat an eye." She dismissed his worries.

Lincoln looked back at a group of teens that were staring at Carol. He followed their line of sight and blushed when he realized what part of his companion they were staring at. He was tempted to bring it to her attention, but one of the teens started to head towards them.

"Carol? One of them is coming here." Lincoln warned her in a whisper as he tugged on her sleeve.

Carol stopped walking and scowled at the air. 'That wasn't me trying to tempt you Fate!' She wanted to scream.

She stopped her silent cry at the heavens to peek behind her. She saw the person Lynx warned her about and fought the urge to gag. He _could_ have been attractive; if the teen cleaned himself up. You know, shave his poor excuse for an attempt at a beard. Get a haircut that would suit him instead of that… whatever it was. If the teen _possibly_ got reconstructive surgery on his face done.

Twice.

'Whelp,' Carol sighed to herself in resignation. 'show time.'

Lincoln grew worried as he saw Carol scowl at nothing. He grew even more concerned the closer the male teen walked to them. He saw the look of disgust flit upon her face, but just like it's appearance it disappeared. When he looked back to Carol her entire demeanor started to change.

Gone was the sudden flash of irritated disgust that was formerly on her face. Gone was the casual look of indifference that he was getting used to. On Carol's face was a look he was unfamiliar with on her.

She now had a smile that was both coy and something he couldn't quite place. It reminded him of Lori when she was speaking with Bobby over the phone or in person. If he only saw this look he wouldn't have known what Carol was really thinking.

That was until he noticed her eyes.

Carol's eyes didn't have the same love-struck look as Lori's did. They held an emotion that would _never_ be on Lori's face when she spoke with her 'Bobby Boo Boo Bear'.

Carol's eyed held… Not quite as weak an emotion as irritation; but her look was not as strong as hatred. It didn't suit her in Lincoln's opinion. At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if this was a normal look for her. The expression came too easily on her face. It was like Carol was used to only showing an emotion she _wanted_ to be seen. What she allowed to show was different than what she felt.

When the male teen was right in front of them now. He did an exaggerated show of looking up and down at Carol. He licked his lips when he was done; the action making Lincoln visibly shudder and cringe. The look wasn't even aimed at him and he found it creepy.

Carol didn't even flinch.

"Hey girl." Carol could _feel_ the guy's sleaziness through his words. "I'm the weatherman. I can tell you to expect more than a few inches tonight." And that there just confirmed it for the girl.

It was strange, in Lincoln's mind, how in sync he started to be with Carol. Both raised their eyebrow. He raised his brow in confusion. It was a clear sunny day; there was little chance of rain. It may have been cool out; but not cold enough for snow.

Carol tried to prevent the twitching of her brow. A quick glance at Lynx confirmed that the context flew over his head. Not her though; the context was obvious.

'More like a forecast of low standards, bad decisions, and dead ends.' Carol had to bite the tip of her tongue to prevent the words from spilling out.

"Tell you what." Carol sauntered over to the teen and pressed a finger to his chin. "I'm shopping with my little brother right now. Call this number later. Then you can _really_ talk." She took a pen out of purse and scribbled a series of number on a piece of paper. The boy's face lit up in a cocky grin as he took the offered parchment; and walked back to his friends. Carol took Lincoln's hand and started speed walking away.

Lincoln glanced back at the boy as he was led away. He could see the teen boasting to his friends over that little piece of paper.

When they were both far away enough he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Carol felt Lincoln's hand slip out of hers as he darted in front of her. He bore a look of confusion on his face.

"What in the world was that?" Carol crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. Her face was back to the casual aloofness she usually had when no one was around.

"It would be kind of weird for two unrelated people with our age gap to be together. The only exception would be if we were related." Carol shrugged her shoulders in reply. It should have been obvious right?

"No! Not that!" Lincoln shook his head before resuming his stare into Carol's eyes. "I'm pretty sure that guy disgusted you. Why would you give him your number?"

Carol froze after Lincoln asked his question. Instead, she had one of her own. "You could tell I didn't like him?"

To Carol, the fact that someone noticed what she felt was new. No one ever called her out on her false expressions before. An eleven-year-old kid could read her better than her own classmates. Classmates that she's been with for at least 3 months.

"I live with ten sisters." Carol had to give him that one. "Back to the matter. Why would you give him your number?"

Carol's cheeks burst with air. She wanted to not laugh. She even smothered her mouth with one hand to prevent it. But her uncontrollable amusement burst forth. "Oh, that's _rich._ " She managed to gasp out between her peals of laughter. "You thought I gave him _my_ number?" She looked at Lincoln for confirmation.

The boy just slowly nodded his head.

"I gave him the number for the teen helpline!" She admitted.

"Huh?"

When Carol finally composed herself, she justified her actions. "That guy." She pointed a thumb over her shoulder in the direction they came from. "Looks like he's got ninety-nine problems. I refuse to let myself be one of them."

The younger boy looked at the now clearly amused teen. He wanted to say something; something that would convey how he felt about the situation.

"You're strange…" Was the only thing he could think of, however.

"You're short. You like pointing out the obvious?"

'There goes that eyebrow of hers again.' Lincoln watched as it went up.

He then noticed her hand coming closer to him. It finally came to rest on top of his head where she started to rub it like one would a pet dog.

"There's a Dairy Queen over there. Let's grab something before we start shopping."

* * *

Lisa observed her sisters as they all entered the room together. They came in to verify the second eldest sibling unit's statement. Not the invisible paint part; Leni states that whenever something disappears from her sight. They went in to verify Leni's unspoken statement.

It was with an audible intake of breath from everyone that confirmed their worries. Her only male sibling unit's habitat was vacant of all possessions.

"Where the heck are Lincoln's things?!" Lisa normally would do a doubletake of Lucy's emotional outburst. Now though, her mind was going into overdrive.

Lisa was a woman of science in a four-year-old's body. It's why she knew about pack mentality. She could write a thesis on it just from observing the actions of her sisters and herself.

At any moment the pack mentality would begin. She would, with admitted shame, fall to the same mind set as well. The next person to talk would set the motion for the Loud pack.

The only way it could be circumvented is if someone ran sibling control. That responsibility was usually delegated to Lori. But in the instance that Lori was one of the siblings needed to be controlled; sibling control duty fell to…

Lincoln.

"Do you think that Linc…" Lana swallowed the lump of dread in her throat. She didn't want to; she hesitated to, but she had to ask. "Ran away?" The overall wearing twin of Lola's looked towards her siblings.

"Of course not!" Lori vehemently denied the younger girl's suggestion; even as her own thoughts mirrored the younger girls' own. "There are literally zero reasons for Lincoln to run away!"

Lisa was tempted to refute Lori's emotional claim. Lincoln had many reasons to relocate himself from their domicile. Most of the unspoken reasons stemming from recent events.

She wasn't an idiot though. She didn't want to be at the center of attention. _Especially_ when pack Loud were thirty seconds away from falling into their base mentality.

She needed to distract herself with something. Anything. She could feel her heart palpitations increase in frequency and the liquid build-up in her tear ducts.

She tilted her back in thought when she noticed something. One of the lenses from a security camera she installed glared back at her. She rushed out of the room as fast as her little legs could carry her into her own room. Opening drawer after drawer she found what she was seeking.

The computer tablet that was connected to all the security feeds in the house.

While Lisa was doing her own investigation; Lynn was staring at the empty room in shock. This was a nightmare; it had to be a nightmare. The room that used to have all of Lincoln's possessions was now bare. There wasn't a speck of dust; there wasn't a cobweb in the corner. It was as if someone wanted to erase Lincoln from existence completely.

Did she cause this?

"We need to search for clues!" Her little sister Lucy was in a panic. She _never_ saw her goth of a roommate this panicked.

"Sure! I'll just check under the bed." Lola's sarcasm was thick. "Oh look. THERE'S NOTHING HERE!"

Lola's outburst was the beginning, but it certainly wasn't the end. Soon enough all of Lynn's siblings were fighting with each other. She could feel the high-strung tension in her ear; she could hear the screaming at the edge of her conscious. It started with the screaming; it resulted in her sisters grappling, scratching, and hair pulling each other on the floor.

'This is our fault Lynn Jr.! You want to know why we were born before Lincoln? Because we're stronger than him! He relies on us for protection!'

"We're stronger than Lincoln." Lynn whispered out in her daze. "We need to protect Lincoln."

'Right now, he's out there somewhere! We don't know if he's safe! We don't know if he's well! We need to save him!'

"Save. Lincoln." Lynn grit her teeth. She would save him!

'Let our sisters fight. Their fight is less important than Lincoln. FIND LINCOLN!'

Her head snapped up as she glared at the dust cloud of fighting sisters. A snarl that she only saved for games on her face; but this wasn't a game.

"You guys can have your Stampeding T-Rex!" She yelled at her siblings. All the sisters stopped their struggle with each other. Some, like Luna, had another sister's hair in her grip. Some, like Lana, were biting another siblings arm. But all of them stared at their jock of a sister in shock.

"You can even have an Erupting Volcano!" She continued yelling; even as her sight started to turn watery. "Have your sister fight protocol!" Her voice was cracking; she had to sniffle to keep her nose from running. Everyone slowly started untangling themselves slowly from the others. Still keeping an eye on their sport-oriented sibling.

She had to wipe her eyes to see clearly again. With a calming breath, she made an announcement.

"I'm enacting PBS protocol."

"Uh… I'm not sure what that is." Leni said as she started tapping a nail on her cheek.

"Protective. Big. Sister. Protocol. I'm going to find him." Lynn stated; a fire burning in her eyes. "My baby brother is out there somewhere. When I find him; and if he is hurt. Whatever hurt him is getting payback. With triple interest!" With that promise made; Lynn flew out of the room.

Lynn didn't care that she left her siblings behind. None of them dared to move; too shocked at Lynn's declaration. Lynn ran to her room to collect her bat before rushing down the stairs.

'We can cover more ground if we take the bike!'

She slid down the banister to get to the garage faster. When she arrived, she pushed the button to open the main door. It only took around ten seconds for the door to open, but to Lynn, it may have been an eternity. Every minute counted.

Strapping on her helmet and mounting her bike; her exit was blocked by Lori. Lynn glared at her oldest sister. Why the hell was she stopping her?

"Did you literally forget that you're not Lincoln's only big sister?" A warm smile graced Lori's face as she faced Lynn.

"Alright girls!" Lori turned to address the other sisters. She was the first to chase after the young girl, but she wasn't the last.

Cheers of agreement came from all the other sisters.

"Leni! Stay here with Lily, Lucy, and Lisa. Lucy, if Lincoln comes back; observe but do not approach. Contact us ASAP. Lisa, you're on co-ordination duty." Lori started handing out orders as all the sisters stood at attention. "Lana and Lola, take your jeep and search the neighborhood. Lynn, you're with them. Luna and Luan, you're with me in vanzilla."

Everyone nodded showing they understood their tasks.

"Loud sisters! Let's go find our brother! Move out!"

* * *

 **Author's notes: First, I would like to apologize to everyone. I had to rewrite this chapter three times just because I didn't like how it was the other times. The other thing to apologize for, it is now considered the beginning of "Peak Season" at work, so updates might stop until January. Work is trying to train me for a new position before peak hits in full swing, which means less time for writing for me.**

 **Sorry everyone.**

 **And can someone please tell me if I'm using semi-colons correctly?**


	5. Chapter 5

**For Want Of A Sibling**

 **Chapter 05**

* * *

"Quit falling behind lynx. Do I need to hold your hand or something?" Carol asked as she spun around to face the boy. When they first entered the mall, they were side by side.

Yet the longer they walked her charge kept falling behind. With it being the weekend, the mall was crowded. There were times she was nervous about losing the boy amongst the sea of people

It was irritating how she kept having to stop to allow the boy to catch up.

Lincoln never really worried about falling behind when following his sisters. Every single one of them had different walking paces, yet when they were together, they automatically slowed down because of the younger ones. It was an automatic response each of them was ingrained with as they grew.

Carol didn't have that conditioning.

"You have long legs!" The boy tried to defend himself, using a louder voice than normal to be heard over the various conversations happening around them. It wasn't his fault he was younger or shorter.

"Yes. I know. My legs are amazing. Now keep up. I feel like I've been walking for months instead of hours." She retorted as she took the younger boy's hand in her own. It was surprising how hard the boys' hands were. Harder than expected anyways. She thought the younger boy's hands would feel softer.

Carol experienced a lot of firsts after meeting with Lincoln. First time sleeping with a boy in her bed. First time potentially kidnapping a child.

She refused to have a first time losing a child.

That would be bad in many ways.

"Aren't we supposed to be clothes shopping?" Lincoln asked to distract himself from Carol's hand. It wasn't a new experience. He had to hold his younger siblings' hands at times. It's been a long time since he had to hold hands with one of his older sisters though.

"We have all day Lynx. Unless you have something else planned." Carol said as she had to force herself to walk slower to keep pace with the boy as she led the boy to the line.

* * *

"Why? Wont you. Soften. Up!" The blonde teen had to hold back a scream of frustration.

"Uh. Carol?" Lincoln wanted to hide his head in his arms. He was used to his family being the centre of attention. He would just be part of the picture with his family being the focus. With only one other companion he could feel all the eyes on them. Staring.

It was unnerving and different.

"Can't you just wait for it to warm up instead of stabbing it like a mad woman?" He eyed the pile of broken plastic spoons to the side of Carol. They were a testament to how hard she was trying to turn her blizzard into a slushy.

"Do I look like a patient woman?" Carol changed the focus of her glare from her blizzard to him. A glare he was used to receiving from his older siblings. It was a warning, daring him to say something.

It was a good thing he was used to those glares. Especially from Lori.

"You look like a crazy woman." Lincoln said in a monotone voice.

"Oh yeah? Who's crazier?" The blonde-haired girl's glare lightened up and started forming into a look of amusement. "The woman stabbing her food or the boy that shared a bed with her?" He could see mirth dancing in her eyes at a joke only she understood between them.

There was something strange in her wording. It wasn't technically wrong. But the way she said it was strange.

Carol waggling her eyebrows at the end of her sentence only served as confirmation to the boy.

"There's subtext in that statement... I might not know what it is. But it's there." He admitted after a moment of trying to dissect what Carol meant.

"I'm actually surprised at how innocent you are. Haven't your older siblings said things like that before?" Carol's amusement at her own joke slowly faded away. She was expecting the boy to stutter. She was expecting him to panic.

The fact that the context flew right over the younger boy's head killed any entertainment she imagined.

"Not really." He admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. He watched as Carol took out her cellphone and started typing things.

With as different as Carol was to his sister Lori, they shared many similarities. Was this the reason he wasn't as guarded as he should be around her?

"Carol, how do you have enough money for this? A part time job shouldn't be able to cover for everything." Lincoln wasn't stupid. Carol was a high school student. She shouldn't have the income to spend as much as she will.

"You've bought me food. You're going to buy me clothes. Considering you still want me to go to school I assume you're also going to buy me supplies." Money didn't just grow on trees.

The boy came from a household with 11 children. Hand me downs were just as much a tradition as it was the norm. His older siblings except for Lynn had a way to make money.

Yet that still didn't stop them from turning into vultures when money made its way into the house.

"Oh. I'm a drug dealer." Lincoln couldn't stop the widening of his eyes any more than he could the sinking feeling in his gut. "Why do you think I don't want the police involved?"

It made a horrifying amount of sense to the Loud. He watched enough TV and movies. Dealing drugs was a high-risk high yield job. It was also highly _illegal_. At least, that's what the movies taught him.

If the police did get involved, if Carol did get arrested. Did that mean he would be arrested too? He could already imagine being escorted into the police cruiser.

"What have I gotten myself into…" He whispered in horror as each breath got harder and harder to swallow. First the situation with his family and now this?

"Ha!" The bright light in his eyes wasn't his imagination. It was the flash of Carol's cellphone.

After taking a few moments to blink away the flash he tried to glare at the giggling blonde.

"Carol!"

"I'm sorry Lynx." The girl barely got those words out from between her giggles. "You're 'scared kitty' look is too much." Carol held her phone away from her, scrutinizing what could only be the recently taken photo. "I think I'll make this my new wallpaper."

Lincoln wished he was more intimidating. His glare probably reminded the girl of a kitten if her laughing harder was any sign.

"You have a strange sense of humor." He said when her laughing started to calm down.

"I find amusement in other people's reactions." She admitted when her giggling passed. "Why do you think I try to beat Lori in everything we do?"

Carol remembers all the sad and defeated looks that the oldest Loud child displayed after every competition. The frustration that marred her visage. The glares from the oldest loud brought another burst of chuckles pealing forth.

"You one up my sister for fun?" With Carol's admission things clicked into place for Lincoln. Like a series of puzzle pieces finally coming together.

"Also, to see Leni's reactions to Lori's. My favorite was the golf tournament." She remembered fondly to that day. Never has she seen someone so happy for the wrong reasons.

Lincoln tried to make sense of Carol in his head. The problem was Carol was a conundrum. From all the stories he overheard from Lori about Carol, he had her pegged as a golden girl. The kind in those teen dramas that are social and popular.

She was more apathetic then social. She was honest, yet her honest remarks sounded like sarcasm. She was caring, yet she tried to fight against her caring nature. She was confident to the point it bordered on arrogant instead of the humble that Leni painted her as.

"I give up trying to figure you out." It was then Lincoln realized that he would never understand Carol Pingrey.

"Lincoln. I'm a teenage girl. No one will be able to figure us out." She said before standing up.

"So, before I spend my drug money on you. Are you sure you want to go this route?" Carol may have suggested the idea, yet she was having second thoughts about this plan.

The boy wanted a change. His actions would give him that change. She wasn't an oracle, she wasn't a prophet. She couldn't see the exact future, but she could see the potential for this to blow up in their faces.

Not all changes were for the better after all.

"They wanted me away from them. I wanted time to myself. Maybe some time away from each other is what we need." It was depressing to her to hear that from the boy. He was trying to be positive, attempting to be mature.

It wasn't by choice he had to be this way.

It was because there was no other path he could take. There was no path in his sight except for this one.

She didn't believe that. Carol didn't believe in just following the path that was laid ahead of you. She believed you had to make your own.

Or have someone show you another way.

"Lynx. Call your sister." Lincoln's eyes widened in complete bafflement. "Don't look at me like that. Think of this as a test of your resolve."

"If you still want to go through with this after hearing their voice, I'll back you up." Lincoln stared into Carol's cerulean blue eyes. All traces of playfulness gone from the older girls features.

"Growing up sucks. It means taking responsibility for the outcomes of your choices. Whether they are good or bad. Keep that in mind." Carol warning was as stern as it was foreboding.

She allowed the boy to think on her words as she escorted him to the payphones. She handed the boy two quarters. Just enough to make the phone call.

How long did he stand there staring at the two coins? A minute? Three? Time had no meaning to the boy as soon as the coins were dropped into his hand.

Should he really go through with this?

Carol walked away from the boy and leaned up against the wall with arms folded. Far enough he could have a private talk with his sister on the payphone, but close enough to keep an eye on the boy.

She watched as he hesitated, just staring blankly at the two pieces of metal. With a deep breath he swallowed his nervousness and turned around. Inserting the coins and dialing a number memorized from long ago, he waited with bated breath.

It rang once. Then twice.

"Hello?"

* * *

Lori literally did not like this situation. She didn't like it at all.

As the oldest it was her duty to enforce the rules made by her parents. If there was no rule made by her parents, she would make her own.

In a family as large as theirs, authority had to be delegated. Roles had to be played by every member of the family.

One of the rules that she had to create while they all grew up together was a simple rule. At least two other siblings should always be aware of where you are.

Luna was the sibling that made her create that rule. The musically inclined sister snuck out of their house for a concert one night.

Lori remembered waking up during the night. She didn't know what made her do it, but she felt like she had to check to see if all her siblings were accounted for. Maybe it was a nightmare that she couldn't remember, or maybe it was a gut feeling.

Her scream that night did wake up half the neighbourhood. She remembered that clearly.

The tears and the panic from everyone that night brought a bad taste in her mouth. She didn't like the feeling of powerless she felt when all the younger siblings started crying. It was one of the times even she couldn't control her emotions.

It chilled her to the bone thinking one of her family members ran away.

If it wasn't for Luan, who remembered halfway in their panic attack, pointed out that Luna snuck out for a concert did she calm down.

That didn't stop the oldest Loud from literally ripping Luna a new one after her parents dressing down. Luna would never be able to forget that moment, even if she wanted to.

There was a significant difference between Luna's disappearance and Lincoln's. Luna just wanted to go to a concert, she didn't have the intention to run away. She at least wanted to come back.

Lincoln was kicked out and locked out of their home. He had every reason to want to run away. Especially with that whole bad luck thing that just happened.

Would her little brother even want to come home?

She said earlier that Lincoln had no reason to want to run away. Even she knew that was a lie back at that meeting. It was a lie to comfort Lana. A lie to comfort herself.

"Luna, any luck on your end?" Lori heard her sister Luan ask the rocker. She watched for Luna's reaction through the rear-view mirror. If Luna did find out where Lincoln was it would ease her nerves. If they even had any information, it would make her feel better.

"Nah. No one has seen Linc at all." She grits her teeth in frustration and strained her face to not lose her composure.

She wouldn't allow herself to break down in front of her younger sisters. No matter how much she wanted to let those tears of fear and worry pour out.

"There's a shortage of our little brother in his usual haunts." Luan said as she gazed out the window. Trying to catch even a glimmer of white hair.

"If that was meant to be a joke Luan, it wasn't very funny." Luna said to her room mate.

"I wasn't trying to be. Even I'm worried. Where the heck could that boy have gone." Luan whispered to herself.

Silence descended into vanzilla after that short exchange. All three of them keeping an eye out for their brother, each of them tense.

They all jumped in their seats when Lori's ringtone broke the silence.

"Luan. Can you answer that?" Luan wasted no time to dive into Lori's purse. Hopefully it was from their siblings back in the house.

"Hello?"

"You're not Lori." Luan froze as she heard the voice.

"Linc?!" She shouted back in excitement. Her mind went a mile a second as relief flooded her.

Luna perked up from the back seat to stare right at the phone. Lori hit the brakes so fast that they all were moved forward from the inertia.

She had many questions, but the most important one was, where was he?

"Where ar-" She stopped as she heard a reply she didn't want.

A dial tone on the other end.

* * *

"That was quick." Carol said as the boy jogged towards her.

"It was." Lincoln's tone was clipped, and his features were fixed. It was easy for Carol to tell what happened.

"You didn't talk at all did you?"

"I panicked." He looked down, refusing to meet the older girl's gaze with his own. He almost jumped when he felt a hand rest on his head.

"I'm not mad at you. Just keep in mind what I said alright?" She stroked his head to calm the boy down. His breathing was noticeably deeper when he came back.

"Do you want to go back to your home now? Or are you going to go through with your plan?" She asked as she felt Lincoln relax under her ministrations.

"I think some time away would do us all some good." He mumbled under his breath.

"Then let's give you a makeover." She said as she took his hand once more.

* * *

"So, I said I was going to give you a makeover." Carol opened as they stood inside the store. "Any idea of how you're going to go about this?"

It was then that Lincoln realized just how daunting a task this may be. If there was one thing that Lincoln knew how to do, it was planning. Each time he had to plan there was always, what he called, the S variable.

His sisters.

They were predictable in their unpredictability. Even if he couldn't guess what they would do _exactly_ , he had a good understanding of what they _may_ or _may not_ do. For as long as he remembered they may not react at all or react to the extreme.

But then Lynn's game happened. The bad luck fiasco happened.

Being kicked out and locked out of his house…

That happened.

If his sisters went that far, if they were outside his expectation by that much, how much did he really know about his sisters?

"Oi. Lynx." Carol's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Carol was watching the boy as his facial expressions kept changing. She couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking about. She had an idea though. The boy looked like he was on the verge of tears before she tried to get him to focus on the task at hand.

Lincoln scratched the back of his head to ease his nerves. It was a subconscious reaction, one that he didn't even mean to do.

"I guess. I'll just wing it for now?" He offered up sheepishly as he stared into Carol's eyes.

Keeping eye contact with Carol shouldn't have been difficult. She was the same age as Lori. He's dealt with Lori.

But dealing with Carol was harder. She was a stranger. Sure, there was the time he managed to get her to come and take Lori's place in a family picture once.

After hearing her confession earlier, it was easy to see why she agreed so readily to his random request.

Lori wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Thinking back, she would always blast what was on her mind. Like a volcano. Carol spoke her mind without words. She did it with her facial expressions.

Like the one she was giving him right now. She didn't say anything with her voice. Her face said it all. 'You're an idiot.'

"This would be so much easier if I didn't have to go to school." He muttered under his breath.

It wasn't quiet enough for the teen though.

"Sure, 'cause, you know, _not_ going to school _totally_ wouldn't raise _some_ kind of a flag with someone. Of course, the police would _so_ not get involved either."

He sighed throughout the entirety of Carol's rant. The sarcasm wasn't necessary, but it did get her point across.

"Now go and pick some clothes out. I'll be waiting in front of the changing rooms."

* * *

Carol was a smart girl. She received good grades, she had common sense. She may not have been a genius, but she was smart enough to get by.

She knew Lincoln was younger than her. Somehow, it didn't click that Lincoln didn't know as much as her. Lincoln may have been smart for his age. But he didn't have the experience.

Is this what being an older sister was like? Having to teach the younger ones around you to take away their naivety?

"Lynx. No." She said as she eyed the clothes in his hands.

She should have told him what to pick out. She should have told him what _not_ to choose.

She really should have seen this coming.

"What's wrong with the clothes I picked out? I have a hoodie to cover up my hair." Carol said it herself earlier. They had to do something about his hair. Covering it up with a hat or a hoodie was the easiest solution.

"It's a bright 'here I am' safety pylon orange. There's a reason people use bright orange pylons. They stand out." It was obvious to her why orange was bad to pick out. Lynx probably chose it because-

"I like orange. It defines me." There was the confirming statement.

"Right. What was I thinking?" She asked herself. It was a rhetorical question with no answer. Even she herself didn't know what she was thinking.

There had to be a way to explain this.

"Lynx. Have a seat." She said as she patted the space beside her.

The boy looked at her and cocked his head to the side in confusion. It made him look more like a puppy than before.

But still he complied. He looked hesitant, almost scared. It wasn't a fear of possibly violence. He seemed to fear disapproval.

"Alright Lynx. I'm going to ask you a series of questions. I want you to answer them."

His white turkey tail bobbed back and forth as he nodded his head. He had a sudden lump in his throat he tried to swallow.

"Imagine you aren't you. You're someone else. You go to Lincoln Loud's classroom, and you must find Lincoln. How hard, and how fast would it be to point him out?"

"It wouldn't take that long. My white hair is noticeable." The answer was quick and immediate.

"Alright, now instead Lincoln Loud had brunette hair. How hard, and how fast would it be to point him out?"

"Still not long. If they told me to look for someone wearing ora- "

The boy cut himself off as it clicked in his head Carol's point.

"When the Louds go out, everyone notices them. Even if no one knows them, if someone says 'The dark one is Lucy' it wouldn't be hard to know who it was. If someone said, 'The pink one is Lola' they could pick her out from the crowd."

It didn't need to be said that 'the orange one' would be himself.

"Stop thinking like a Loud Lynx. If you don't want your siblings to recognize you, you can't be Lincoln Loud. Try thinking of yourself as Lynx Pingrey or something."

"Why am I changing my name?"

"To change yourself. If you don't want people to see you. Be someone else." To Lincoln, it sounded like the girl was quoting someone. She probably was. "Now go put those orange polo's away. I'll help you pick some things out."

Lincoln stared down at the clothes in his hands longingly. For as long as he could remember he always wore orange polos.

Carol sighed as she stared at the younger boy.

"Here. I'll show you." He didn't seem to catch what Carol grabbed before she disappeared into the changing rooms.

He returned everything he grabbed back to their proper places and sat down on one of the benches.

' _Be someone else._ ' The boy thought in his mind.

Those words brought forth another thought to his head. A poem his sister Lucy wrote that felt like years ago.

'Failure. It is not an option, yet it's something you choose.

The man with the plan is destined to lose.

Failure. You know there is no one else to blame.

For the choices you make are always the same.

Failure. It's all your fault, this streak of bad luck.

No escape from this cycle in which you are stuck.'

He let out a bitter chuckle at that memory. The way Lucy said it, it was as if she foresaw these events happening.

Maybe she did, she was kind of spooky sometimes.

But there will be a change in this cycle. He wouldn't do what he always did. He would do things differently.

"Hey." A voice cut him off from his thoughts. He gazed up from his ponderings and looked at the person in front of him.

"Hi. Do I know you?" He was hesitant to ask. She seemed kind of familiar. But her dress style would have been memorable.

It was a tomboyish like look with a sort of feminine flair to it too. Capri jeans matched with an oversized t-shirt tucked in with the sleeves rolled up. It was an odd but workable fashion statement to him.

He couldn't properly see her eyes from underneath her fedora, but her blonde messy ponytail slung over her shoulder was visible.

The girl stood there tapping her foot against the floor. She was patient, but her patience was wearing thin as she played with her hair.

"It's me Lynx." With that nickname, the person in front of him became obvious.

"Carol?!" You look completely different."

"Yeah. I kind of figured that when you had no idea who I was. This is what I want you to be able to do. I was right in front of you, but I might as well have been a stranger."

"Now stand up and go grab some underwear and socks. I already grabbed the clothes you'll be wearing." The girl said.

* * *

'Why didn't I grab a shopping cart before we started?' The boy lamented as they waited in line. After grabbing the last things he needed for clothes Carol dumped what she chose in his arms. He was barely able to see past the pile that he carried. He was glad to finally put down their purchases on the belt.

He had to admit though, he might not know about style, but these clothes were nice.

He would still miss his orange polos though.

"Taking your little brother shopping?" The cashier lady asked while she tallied up their total.

"Step brother. But yeah. He needed a wardrobe change. He always wears the same thing." Carol said as she fiddled with her cellphone.

Lincoln felt his eye twitch as he glowered at Carol. He felt that subtle barb at his orange polos. The way the side of Carol's lip curled up, she knew he knew.

"Aren't you lucky to have such a nice older step sister."

"Why yes. He most certainly is. I want to send his new look to his blood sister." Carol was grinning like a loon now. It would easily be mistaken as a look of pride.

He could tell she was having fun with this. She was having a blast lying to the lady, while at the same time having hints of the truth in her words. It was little more than a game to the older girl.

"I want to be put up for adoption." The boy snarked. Carol let out a short bark of laughter in response.

"You shouldn't say that young man!" Lincoln visibly recoiled as the cashier lady reprimanded him. She looked affronted at his words, as if they were against her personally.

The lady had to be a mother. Only a mother could give the 'I am disappointed in you' look that well.

"I know of some blood siblings that would kick their siblings out of their house if they could."

The irony of that statement wasn't lost on either of them.

"I can see that happening." Carol said as she cautiously eyed Lincoln from her peripherals for his reaction.

"I guess some families are weird like that." He forced out.

' _And I just kind of got him to cheer up too.'_ The teen sighed and shook her head.

Hopefully getting Lynx back on his feet wouldn't take a whole day this time.

* * *

 _'Lynx returned to being down in the dumps ever since we left the clothing store.'_ Carol noted in her head.

They continued to shop for his other school supplies and toiletries. She even reactivated her old cellphone to a 'pay as you go' plan for the boy. While he did cheer up a bit after a while, it wasn't much of an improvement.

 _'I should be the depressed one. I've spent over $200 and the only thing I got was a thumb drive.'_ She wanted to fume but stopped herself from venting on the boy.

When they met, all he had were the clothes on his back. It wouldn't be fair to take out her frustrations on the kid. Especially since it was her idea to buy everything and drag him out.

The boy had his own thoughts occupied. The words of the cashier kept popping up. The words in Lucy's poem kept lingering in the recesses of his mind. His thoughts kept returning to his sisters.

It was normal for siblings to fight. There was bound to be a difference in opinions with personalities so different from each other. But they would always make up in the end.

Thinking back to all the past incidents with his sisters, there was a routine to be seen. He would plan, something would inevitably fail due to the actions of one or more of his sisters, or an oversight on his part. Following that it was up to him to always apologize and rectify the issue.

Then the cycle continued because he always made the same choice. Just like Lucy's poem said he would.

' _I need to stop thinking about all this.'_ Lincoln thought with a sigh. _'I just wish I had something to…distract…me…'_

"Carrie! Look!" This was exactly what he needed as a distraction. "They have an arcade here!"

Carol just stood in complete bewilderment of what was in front of her. "These things still exist?"

"Wait. What did you call me?"

Ignoring the question, the boy kept staring into her eyes. "They have DDR and 'Home of the Alien Invaders'! Can we go in? Pretty please?"

Carol just wanted to say no to the boy. She _had_ money, sure. She already spent more than she was comfortable with today. Arcades were like those online phone games.

A cash grab scheme. A pay to win thing, but with arcades it was pay to play as well.

But then a memory hit the girl.

Carol remembered shopping with her mom when she was little. She recalled passing by such places as a young girl while shopping with her parent.

The flashing lights and screens always drew her eyes. Even as the sounds of the games and people grabbed her ears.

All the while a warm hand grasped her own.

"Come on Carol. Please?" Lincoln's voice brought her out of her reverie. A slight pout and pleading eyes filled her vision as she looked down at the shorter boy.

An image of a younger Carol overlapped with Lincoln's own. His small hand holding hers and trying to pull her in. She could even imagine her mother being in the position she was in right now.

'I'm too young to be a mom…' She turned her head and scoffed at the notion.

"Forget it Lynx. Help me put these things in the car." She started pulling against the boy and tried to lead him back.

The look that crossed over Lincoln's face was reminiscent to hers when she was a child.

'Maybe when you're older Carol you can go with your friends.' The memory of her mom's unfulfilled promise echoed in the back of her head.

When Carol did get older and had friends they were never interested in the arcade. They were more interested in their own looks and boy bands.

She shuddered as she recalled her obsession back then.

She kept watch of the boy with the corner of her eyes. His slumped posture and inability to look at anything but the ground. When they made it to the car and started putting the bags away a stray thought hit her.

 _'I may be too young to be a mother. But I'm not too old to be a friend.'_

"Hey Lynx." The boy finally looked up at having his name called. "Get ready to get your butt kicked."

When she saw Lincoln's smiling face of excitement, she couldn't help but think.

 _'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.'_

* * *

 **Author's note: So, been a while. Peak season finished in February, but the training I mentioned? They trained me in almost all the area's at work besides the area they want me to run. What's up with that? Now that the person who was supposed to teach me is going on vacation soon, they want me to learn everything in a week?**

 **If it was something simple, sure, whatever. But if I mess up, I can cost the company thousands of dollars. So, either they have high hopes for me, or they want to make a reason to fire me.**

 **I don't get people.**

 **Anyways, this chapter is not proofread yet. And I haven't slept in 2 days. I'll probably fix this up later and repost it.**

 **Till next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**For Want Of A Sibling**

 **Chapter 06**

* * *

Lori let out a sigh as she drove Vanzilla into the driveway. Putting the vehicle in park she rested her head against the steering wheel.

They spent the whole day on a wild goose chase looking for any trace of their brother. She was hoping it would be easy to find him. She was hoping to talk through their problems together, make amends and move on like they always do.

No such luck.

After the phone call that Lincoln made to her she kept her phone in her lap. Ready to answer as soon as she could. Lincoln either couldn't, or wouldn't, dial her number for a second time that whole day.

If she answered would he have stayed on for longer? If he heard her voice would he tell them where he was?

Lifting her head up she could see the sisters they left behind gazing at them from the living room window. Everyone had a hopeful gaze that soon dropped into anxiety when she met their eyes.

"Come on girls." She tried to sound firm. She tried to sound strong. "Let's go tell the girls." Everyone that left the van had heavy feet as they piled out.

Lori had to steel herself as she gripped the door handle. She was the oldest of the Loud children. She had to be the pillar of strength for the others.

After she ran damage control and when everyone else was asleep, she'd call Bobby.

She didn't have to be strong for him.

'Lincoln, wherever you are. Be safe.' She prayed.

* * *

Lynn splashed a handful of water on her face to help her wake up. She watched as the water trickled down her face into the sink.

'I look like shit.' She thought as she examined herself in the mirror.

The lack of sleep was taking its toll on the young girl. Her vision, which was normally exceptional, was now slightly blurry. It was hard to focus her eyesight. Dark bags were starting to make themselves known under her eyes.

Her body was aching with pain from how much she forced it to move earlier. She didn't know how far she pedalled. She pedalled until the sun went down while looking for the white-haired boy. She would have continued too if her body's normally unending energy didn't end up exhausted.

It was by pure luck that her sister Luna spotted her. They almost missed her collapsed form near the sidewalk.

If the problem was only muscle strain, she wouldn't have issues sleeping. Her body was used to muscle pain from all the training and sports she did.

It was her mind that was keeping her up. Worry for Lincoln and thoughts of what might have happened to him assailed her mind. It made falling asleep an unsurmountable obstacle. But when she finally did fall asleep her rest was plagued by nightmares involving her brother.

She tried to recall what happened in her nightmares, yet the harder she tried to grasp them the more they slipped through her fingers.

"I just want my little brother back." She whispered to herself as she watched her tears mingle with the little drops of water still stuck to her face.

"Do you really mean that?" Her reflection asked her.

The tears that were marring her face mere seconds ago vanished without a trace. There wasn't a sneer in the mirror that she expected from the 'Not sister' voice. Neither was there the look of frantic panic from the 'sister' voice.

The visage in front of her held neither sneer, nor smile. It held no trace of malice or any hint of kindness.

"I do." She told the figure staring back at her. She meant it from the bottom of her heart. She would do anything, give up everything, if it meant having her brother Lincoln back.

She expected a proud smile to adorn the face.

She didn't expect the face to bite its lower lip.

She didn't expect the look of pity.

She didn't expect the sigh of resignation.

"That may be what you want. But do you even deserve him?" It questioned her curiously. The voice was neutral, never fluctuating. It was like her own personal therapist, asking a question and allowing the patient to make their own answer.

She didn't like her own answer.

"No. I don't." She managed to choke out through clenched teeth and barely contained sobs.

The image closed its eyes and faded away. No proof that it was ever there, like smoke in the wind. In its place was her own reflection again with fresh tears spilling forth.

Ghostly images started dancing on the reflective surface. Past transgressions she committed against her brother played like a TV show in front of her. Some of them were minor offences, while others were major.

She didn't just witness her _own_ transgressions. She saw _everyone's_.

She forced herself to endure watching each one. She didn't dare to turn away from all their faults. She couldn't turn back from what they did. What _she_ did.

This was her punishment.

"But that doesn't mean I can't." She promised herself in a whisper.

Lynn Loud was a winner. She faced any trial, any challenge head on and won.

Now she just had to win against herself.

She _would_ be a sister that Lincoln deserved.

* * *

"I. Loathe. Mornings." Carol stated as she glared at her coffee maker.

Carol was still wearing her pajama's. It was a large grey hoodie and jogging pants. She wasn't planning to go out today, so there was no reason to start getting ready.

'Wait. Am I supposed to go somewhere today?' She scratched her head underneath her hood, hoping that the motion would help remind her if she had any plans.

'Whatever. Any problems can wait until I get my coffee.' She reasoned. Coffee made things work.

It was bad enough that she had to wake up. But she also forgot that her Dad was currently out of town due to business. It must have slipped her mind while having to deal with Lynx.

With her father away that meant she had to cook breakfast. Lynx was lucky to get to sleep in.

'Did Lynx mention what he wouldn't eat?' Carol didn't know the boy well enough to know his eating habits.

Peeking into the fridge from under her hood she gazed looked at all the ingredients. She should've taken the kid grocery shopping as well.

'Whatever. Kid doesn't like it he can make his own breakfast.' She thought as she started pulling out ingredients.

Upstairs in her room Lincoln was just starting to wake up. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he noted the absence of his bedmate.

It was strange. Any day of the week he _had_ to wake up early due to the noise in his house. He had to wake up to assist everyone in getting ready and lining up for the bathroom to get himself ready. Now the only battle he had was pushing the blanket off and putting his feet on the floor.

Slipping his feet into the cat slippers Carol bought him he headed to the kitchen. He normally wouldn't mind the cat slippers, but the reason Carol purchased them…

'You're like a stray kitty I found outside. Why do you think I call you Lynx?' He could just still hear her giggling in his ears.

When he was halfway down the stairs a sound grabbed his ears. Arriving at the kitchen he saw Carol standing by the stove and bobbing her head to a tune only she could hear. One of her hands rested inside her hoody's pocket while the other hand manipulated a spatula.

"Carol. You need any help?" He offered after observing the teen from the entrance.

He wanted to pay the teen back for everything she's done for him so far. He couldn't give her money, he was broke. But if he could help her in any way, he would do it to lessen the debt he owed her.

"I do whatever I want to. I fight who I don't like, I'm a rebel through and through~" Lincoln could only stare at the girl's back in confusion. How did any of that answer his question?

"Without a single hope for the future, I wanted so badly to live within a dream." Carol whispered out before starting to sway her hips and bounce on her feet.

"And yet I'm still afraid of the future, while hating tomorrow. Wish things were the way the were. But time it stops for no one and so I shout." Carol started raising the spatula to her mouth before starting to talk into it.

"'I don't want, I don't want, don't want tomorrow to come.'" Lincoln watched on in morbid fascination as Carol continued without a care in the world. She was just singing and dancing away like no one was watching.

But someone was, and he was completely frozen like a deer caught in the headlights of an incoming truck.

When Carol turned to put the meal on the table, she caught sight of the boy and stopped. She could feel her face burning up as she slowly removed her earbuds.

"Lynx?" She slowly sat in the chair across from the boy.

"Yes Carol?"

"You saw nothing. You heard nothing. You will _speak_ nothing of what you witnessed. Are we clear?" Lincoln would normally be intimidated in this situation. If Carol had her trademark glare aimed at him, he would have been petrified.

Unfortunately for Carol, any threats she made right now were obsolete to the boy. Carol trying to hide inside her hood to cover up her embarrassment? That overshadowed everything right now.

He tried his best to hold it in. He really did. But with the convulsions of his shoulders and the snort that escaped his lips, he couldn't contain himself anymore. Laughter filled the kitchen as what could be seen of Carol's face got redder and redder.

Lincoln didn't even bother to dodge as a piece of egg was launched at his face. Courtesy of Carol's carefully aimed spoon.

* * *

Lincoln laid on Carol's sofa, his arms and legs spread in all directions. His one hand held the remote trying to find something to watch on Netflix.

There was nothing for the boy to do. He didn't really feel like going to any of his friends' houses. His sisters would have contacted them first.

He couldn't even work on his homework. All his assignments were back in his room at the Loud house. That was how bored he was. He would willingly do his own homework right now.

After breakfast Carol told him 'Do whatever. Stay out of trouble.' Which would have been fine, if there was anything to do. It wasn't like he knew the area. He also didn't want to run into one of his sisters.

He would have checked up on Carol, but something told him she was still embarrassed about being caught singing into a spatula.

He could faintly hear the washing machine under the preview clips and quiet footsteps.

Darkness suddenly covered his vision as a soft uncomfortable heat enveloped him. Fighting off what was on him he glared at his roommate.

"Hey! What gives?"

"Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You're going to love it. Now get folding." She said with a smirk. She circled around the sofa with a laundry hamper balanced on her hip.

Looking at what Carol dumped on him he saw his newly bought, freshly cleaned clothes.

"You plan on watching something?" She asked as she sat beside the boy and placed the basket beside her.

"I don't know what to watch. I never thought having to do nothing would be so boring." He admitted while picking up his white hooded vest to fold.

There was a point in time that all he wanted was some peace and quiet time for himself. It's what started this whole mess. Maybe if he-

"That doesn't answer my question Lynx." Carol said as she started folding her own share of clothes.

"Yeah, sorry." He apologized while reaching for the next article to fold. "Anything planned for today?"

"Homework. I need to write a book report on the differences and similarities between Blade Runner and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." She scrunched up her face in distaste.

"Sounds… Interesting?" The boy hazarded to say as he grabbed his bra to fold next.

"Yeah, so we're going to have to go visit the library after this." Carol said as she continued folding her own clothes.

The boy nodded in acceptance before freezing in mid motion.

'Wait. What?' He lifted the piece of clothing in his hands again and examined the piece. It was a bra. A black, lacy, transparent bra.

Normally this wouldn't be embarrassing. He helped fold his sisters' undergarments on occasion.

But this was Carol's. Carol wasn't his sister.

He could feel his face start to heat up. In his panic fumbled with the bra before flinging it away from him.

Carol didn't even flinch as her bra smacked her in the face. She continued with her task. Reaching over to a pair of socks she calmly bundled them together.

Before launching the ball of cloth at Lincoln's head.

Lincoln stared at Carol in shock. Carol raised her eyebrow in return. She didn't have to say anything. Lincoln remembered how she acted at the arcade last night.

Carol's competitive nature was sparked.

"You do know this means war." He said narrowing his eyes at the teen.

She leaned over to put her eyes at the same level as his. "Bring it Kitty."

Carol let out a sharp squeal as she tried to avoid a pair of briefs aimed at her face.

The start of the great laundry war was here.

* * *

"I'll literally be right next door. If you need anything you have my number saved. You remember 'Carol's All True Rules Of Living Life' number 3?" Carol asked as she stared down at the boy.

Lincoln sighed as he nodded. The nod wasn't good enough for Carol as she motioned with her hand for the boy to continue.

"Don't do something I wouldn't want to explain to the cops or paramedics. AKA, stay out of trouble." The boy recited while rolling his eyes.

"Good boy." She smiled as she pulled Lincoln's hood over his eyes.

He flailed his arms in hopes of knocking her arms away, but she was already walking away from him. Paying for his time at the counter the girl strode out of the café.

She said she was going to the library. He wouldn't have minded going with the girl, but he had his own objective at the cyber café.

Hopefully one of his classmates was online right now.

He couldn't help the smile that blossomed on his face as he saw who was online.

"Hey Clyde." He greeted his best friend after initiating a video chat.

* * *

Carol returned to the café after she finished in the library. She gave a brief nod to the cashier that he returned in kind.

Scanning the room, she tried to find a sign of her bedmate before the owner pointed his thumb into a corner near the back.

As she approached the boy, he could see he was talking to a Hispanic girl. The girl's face eyebrows were scrunched up in irritation as she spoke.

Her features tickled a sense of familiarity in the girl. She couldn't place when or where she would have seen this girl.

Too caught up in his conversation he didn't even notice her approach.

'Is she Lynx's girlfriend?' Carol jut out her lip in thought as she stood behind the boy.

Slowly, her lips broke into a smile. It wasn't a warm smile. It wasn't a happy smile.

It was the smile of the cat that ate the canary.

'I can have fun with this.' Holding in her chuckles she slowly and casually placed her hand upon his shoulder.

She watched as the younger girls face morphed from irritation into one of confusion.

* * *

"Thanks for sending me the homework Clyde." Lincoln said to his friend.

"No problem Linc. Anyways, I have an appointment with doctor Lopez. See you on Monday."

Closing the video chat another video chat request popped up. It was from his other friend Ronnie Anne, the younger sister of his oldest sister's boyfriend.

He was hesitant to accept the request. Not because he didn't like Ronnie Anne, but because of her relationship to Bobby.

If he didn't accept, she would give him an earful on Monday. Resolving himself he clicked on the accept button.

"Lame-O!" The Hispanic girl's face popped onto the screen. "Where have you been?! Your sisters have been worried sick!"

"Hey Ronnie Anne. How've you been?" It was good to see a familiar face again.

"Don't try to change the subject!" The girl snapped at him. She worried for the boy. But it was easier for her to deal with anger than with anxiety. "Lori called Bobby last night saying you haven't been home. Where are you right now?"

The mere mention of his older sister sent a flurry of emotions into him. But still, he answered the girl's question.

"I'm at a café near the library right now."

Before Ronnie Anne could ask another question a figure of a person came on the screen.

The stranger stood behind Lincoln and all that could be seen was the person's torso. It was easy to identify as female, but that was it. The hands of the female were concealed in the front pocket of the purple hoodie.

The stranger placed a hand on the younger boy, it was done casually, as if they were close friends.

"Yo Lynx. I grabbed what I needed. You almost done?" Ronnie Anne didn't recognize the voice at all. But the familiarity it showed Lincoln was odd. It even had a nickname for the boy.

Lincoln was her friend. He was arguably her best friend. So an unfamiliar voice near him when he went missing…

It drew an uncomfortable picture in her mind.

"Yeah. Ronnie Anne. Be seeing ya."

"Hey wai-" She held on to the corners of the monitor to stop the boy from disconnecting.

"Hey Lynx." The unfamiliar voice cut her off.

Both Ronnie and Lincoln stopped. Lincoln looked up at something out of her view. But still she tried to get closer to get even a glimpse of the stranger.

"Can you do me a favor?" The voice asked.

"Sure. Wassup?"

"Smell this." Purple hoody pulled out a piece of cloth from inside her main pouch.

"Let me know if it smells like chloroform." With that statement the cloth immediately was set upon her friend's mouth and nose. The young boy started struggling to pull the hand something him off with no success. With her one hand occupied with the boy she pulled out the other and cut off the connection.

Ronnie Anne couldn't do anything. She felt like a string puppet without the strings as she sat back down in her chair and stared blankly at the screen.

* * *

If anyone knew anything about Bobby Santiago, it was that he was dedicated. It was his specialty. Whether it was his family, his girlfriend Lori, or even his future; Bobby would commit himself 100% and more.

He would balance family, school, Lori, and his multitude of jobs with a smile. He promised himself that at any time, for any reason; if they needed him, he would be there.

Last night his babe gave him a call. Her voice was wavering as she spoke, she was holding in tears with everything that she was saying.

His heart went out to his girlfriend. He could understand the worry the eldest Loud sister was going through. Their lil bro was missing.

It wasn't hard to imagine what Lori was going through. He just had to imagine Nini disappearing without a trace.

He may not have been the smartest boy in school, but what he lacked in brains he made up for in single minded tenacity. He just had to get some help.

"Nini! Lil bro is missing. I need your help to find him." He said after bursting through his little sisters' door.

She was sitting in front her laptop, a window displaying a 'user disconnected' screen on it.

"Lame-O is near the library…" She said as she stared at the screen.

Bobby couldn't help but blink at that declaration. Lori was freaking out, and his sister knew where he was right away.

"Well, as long as he's okay. We can go pick him up."

"I guess." Ronnie Anne said in a daze. The young girl was still in a shock from the surreal event that took place on her screen.

"Hey bro?" She turned to look at her brother.

"Yeah?"

"What's chloroform?"

* * *

 **Deleted scene**

 **Carol and Lincoln at the Arcade**

Carol allowed Lincoln to drag her around the sea of people. The sound from the various game machines and laughter of people almost drowning out the boy's excited babbling.

He finally pulled her into a booth with two pistol controllers.

"Carol! You ever play an FPS before?" The boy asked after sitting down and facing the girl. His joyful smile lighting up his face as his body shook with excitement.

"What's an FPS?" The term sounded familiar. If only because she heard it through conversations between her classmates she overheard.

"First Person Shooter. Think paintball." He said as he reached over to pick up a plastic firearm.

"Whatever. Let's do this." She grumbled picking up a gun of her own.

* * *

Looking back, Lincoln should have explained the game mechanics to Carol before they started.

"What the hell?!" Carol yelled at the screen. "I shot it in the face! How did it not die?!"

"Don't panic!" Lincoln eyed the screen for any enemy movement. "See the sparkling plant in the bottom left corner? Shoot it to get back health."

"I would do that if I could. But I'm out of ammo over here!" Carol wanted to throw the controller at the screen in frustration.

"Shoot off screen to reload!" He said trying to buy time for Carol to get used to the game.

"How do these things not die from a bullet to the head? I double tapped! I swear to God I did!"

* * *

"Don't feel bad Carol." Lincoln said as he stroked the back of the scowling teen to comfort her.

She was sitting there, glaring at the screen as it flashed the scores. It was bad enough that the boy had a higher score than her. But what really made the situation worse was that the boy sounded _exactly_ like his older sister Leni when _she_ would comfort Lori.

"You're just not as good at this as Lori."

Correction. What he just said with his smug little smirk made it was worse. She could feel something within her snap.

She took a deep breath as she wordlessly picked her gun back up and paid for another round.

"One. More. Time." She said glaring at the younger boy.

She completely, and absolutely _refused_ to lose to a Loud.

* * *

Lincoln couldn't hold back his gleeful laughs as he continued to drag Carol from game to game.

He always spent time with his sisters. It was rare that his sisters spent their time with him though. He was always helping them with their hobbies and projects that they rarely had time for his.

"Before I get on this contraption, explain how it works." His partner said as she crossed her arms and glared at the machine.

That was why he was happy right now. None of his sisters played his favourite game with him. It was why he was giddy to explain the game to the unamused girl.

'If only I had more day's like this with them.'

* * *

"I think this is the first time I've seen you smile and actually mean it." Lincoln commented as he followed beside the older girl

Carol was positively beaming as they left the arcade and mall behind her.

"What can I say? I just won bragging rights over another Loud."

Carol had to admit. It was fun hanging out with Lynx. It threw the monotonous routine of hers for a loop.

The bragging rights also felt damn good.

Can't forget the bragging rights.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, I'm just going to end this chapter here. I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but originally this story wasn't meant to be a long story.**

 **It was going to be just a series of one shots. A sort of "Slice of Life" fic of just Carol and Lincoln being friends. I have a bunch of clips already written down, but most of them were cut for the mere fact they probably wouldn't fit into the main story line now or that they wouldn't end the chapter in a way that I felt happy with.**

 **I still liked those scenes, so I added one as a sort of bonus. So yeah, it is canon in this story.**

 **Other side random notes. The original title of the story was supposed to be Hocus Pocus, like the Hatsune Miku song. It changed after I was surfing that tvtropes site.**

* * *

 **Preview**

"Are you completely insane?" "What are you going to do if she calls the cops thinking I was actually kidnapped?"

"Yeah…" "My bad…"


End file.
